


Home

by fairytalehope



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Enchanted Forest, Drama & Romance, F/M, Falling In Love, Family, Home, Parenthood, Pregnancy, Romance, True Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-24
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-02-06 09:50:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 45
Words: 481,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12814962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fairytalehope/pseuds/fairytalehope
Summary: What would have happened if the Dark Curse had worked differently? If nobody had been sent to our world, but had stayed, stuck in time, in the Enchanted Forest? Emma Swan's been abandoned in a dark corner of the woods as she was barely a few hours old. At twenty-eight, she’s working her life away as a waitress to offer a decent life to her son. But she’s happy, surrounded by Henry and Killian, the love of her life, her soulmate and best friend. The one who brought her walls down when she didn't trust anyone. What will happen when the family is forced to move and join the lost kingdom? Will they finally find a home?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there! So here I come again with this insanely long fiction. This is just the prologue to tell you guys a little about the beginnings of this story, but the next four chapters or so will be dedicated to how Emma and Killian fell in love with each other, because that's also a long story to tell here. I hope you'll like the first chapter!

"Emma, can you bring this to table six, please?"

"On it!" The waitress said, grabbing the dishes and tankards her boss was handing her.

A plate poised on her right hand, another balanced on her forearm and the beer mugs in the left one, Emma Swan made her way through the crowded tavern to obey the order that her boss, Matt, had just given her.

She knew that this entire situation was a risky exercise. She could drop anything at the slightest wrong move, and it was something she wasn't willing to experience. She didn't want to fix the potential damage. Her wage wasn't that high, she couldn't afford to pay for the broken plates, and she already had enough work without adding on it.

Ans she trusted herself on this. She was doing this job for ten years now. An actual decade. She'd had her fair share of broken plates and mistakes in her beginnings, but not anymore. She knew what she was doing. It was perhaps the only thing she was good at, she thought.

She didn't linger on those unpleasant thoughts. She placed the order in front of the client on said table six, and rushed back to the counter to attend to the bar, behind which she was working that night. Matt was looking for new employees, they were understaffed, and the tavern was crowded. No wonder, it was the best establishment of the kind in a hundred miles radius.

Emma suddenly felt like she was doing twenty things all at once. She was exhausted, and it was only starting to get dark outside. She still had hours to go before being allowed to get a bit of rest. But she was used to this by now. And she wouldn't complain : as long as she wasn't starving and had a roof above her head, she was happy.

The tavern would usually close around midnight, except for one special night a week, where it was open until dawn. Those days, she was allowed to finish early. Her boss knew her for so long, he liked her a lot, and she had a reason. She had a ten-year-old son awaiting for her to go to bed. Matt didn't really have a choice but to let her take this weekly day off. She was working extra-hours almost every day anyway, and she really thought she deserved this.

She sighed, smoothing the regulatory dress she had to wear every day. Then she turned to the bar to answer a client asking for her.

Her wage wasn't high for the hard job she did, but Henry and herself had been housed, free of charge, in a little room above the tavern for years. Things were a bit different, now. She'd indeed moved from the small room she'd shared with her son, what allowed her to have a bit more money, and to buy more things for her little boy. She liked that a lot. She just wanted her son to have the life he deserved.

She could easily remember all those nights she'd spent on the cold, wooden floor of the room, to let her kid sleep on the only bed they owned. Her comfort had drastically improved since then. She would certainly not complain about this. As an orphan, she'd always been used to that kind of rough treatments, but it was still nice to be able to sleep in a real bed, with real blankets. She finally felt safe, after all those years of fear and despair. And all of this was because of a very special someone. The only one with her son who'd never given up on her.

"Swan, stop daydreaming and serve the freaking clients!"

That charming comment was coming from Calvin, Matt's son. Emma tried really hard not to roll her eyes, knowing it would only make things worse, and obeyed without a word. The both of them had never gotten along. He was barely older than she was, but it wasn't stopping him from treating her like dirt. Needless to say she didn't really like that behavior.

Sure, her clothes were old and a bit damaged. Sure, she barely had enough money to feed her own son, and without that job, she would be panhandling right now. But it wasn't an excuse to treat her as if she were nothing. She was strong, she was a warrior. She just hadn't been lucky.

Her parents had abandoned her in a dark spot of the Enchanted Forest as she was barely a few hours old. To that bad start, she had to add years spent in the streets, some bad meetings, a past as a criminal and having to take care of a baby had barely seventeen.

Calvin couldn't judge her for this, because he'd been born at the right place at the right time. He couldn't even begin to imagine what she'd had to go through to survive. He would never know what true hunger was like, he only knew the softness of the silk on his skin and the love of adoring parents, and he didn't get what it was like to be left alone over and over again.

She didn't give herself a lot of credit, but she knew she was strong. She'd survived all of this, the hunger, the fear, the coldness, she'd raised a baby all by herself, and happiness had finally seemed to have found her after years of broken hopes and heartaches. Calvin couldn't get any of this. And she wouldn't waste her breath on him.

"He's a pain in the ass." Old Sam whispered as she was handing him his beer.

That made her chuckle, but she tried to hide it behind a fake cough so she wouldn't have to deal with another one of Calvin's rude comment. The old man winked at her, and took a long sip out of his drink. Sam was a regular costumer in the Howling Wolf tavern, and he'd always been really nice to her.

She knew he felt a kind of paternal affection toward her, given how young she'd been when she'd started to work there. He liked the fact she would never complain about anything. She just shrugged at him, cleaning the counter all at the same time. Glancing at Calvin to make sure he was too busy yelling at another waitress to pay attention to her, she answered :

"I'm used to it, don't worry. I won't let him get to me."

"Good, kiddo." He said. "Still, he shouldn't behave like that."

"He's just a jerk." She said with a small smile. "What about you, Sam? How are you?" She added, stopping her task to talk to the old man.

"As good as I could possibly be. We were talking about the Dark Curse with Berny." He said, gesturing to the other man sitting on his left.

"Sam, it's been almost thirty years. You should get over it sometimes." She gently teased him.

 _The Dark Curse_. How often had she heard those words. It was the favorite subject of the older population, in the Enchanted forest. It had literally traumatized an entire generation. Emma had always lived in a Forest touched by the Dark Curse, and she liked to tease old Sam, but deep down, she could easily imagine what the citizens had felt back when the curse had hit their homes.

Overnight, the Evil Queen's threats had become real. She'd imprisoned Snow White and Prince Charming's entire kingdom, and they were now stuck in time. Without notice, what everyone now called the Black Dome had appeared around the castle, the city and everything surrounding it. Every soul that had tried to cross the Dome had ended up transforming into dust. Rumors said those touched by the curse had no idea of what was happening to them. They were living the same day over and over again, without aging, desperately stuck in their own lives.

What had been until then the capital of the Enchanted Forest had literally disappeared, erased from life, time and space, along with the kingdoms around it. People had long stopped trying to cross the damn Dome, too scared to get killed by the black mass. Finding a solution had been given up long ago.

Because if this entire situation was traumatizing, if a good part of the Forest had been touched, Emma lived in one of the remote areas, one of those places that had been almost forgotten for centuries as the capital was going strong. Through time, as the main kingdoms were nowhere to be seen, these lost places had developed to become towns, cities, ruled by lords and ladies.

Emma lived in the far north of the forest, directly opposite to the Black Dome that stood in the south. She'd never known anything else than this little village she was living in. She'd been abandoned by her parents right here. She'd come into age here, she'd panhandled here, and she'd finally found a life here.

"It's not the same for you, kiddo. You can't remember how it was like to wake up in a world where the capital was gone. People were panicking. There were riots, most of the citizens were trying to cross realms and reach another world, because everyone thought the Dark Curse was going to hit them as well." He explained as she was trying not to smile, hearing him telling her the same story for the hundredth time. "Remind me, how old are you again?"

"I'm twenty eight." She said with a small smile.

He looked a bit surprised "Oh, so you're born the year of the curse, then?"

"Not only the same year. The same day as well." She smiled with a little shrug.

"Wait, today is your birthday?" He said, opening his eyes wide.

Indeed, this cold day of fall was not only the Dark Curse's twenty-eighth birthday, but also her own. She'd been found in the woods the same morning the citizens had discovered, terrified, the new Black Dome obstructing a good part of their world. When she was little, she liked to think that her parents hadn't abandoned her willingly, but had been forced to because of the events that had occurred that night.

She'd dreamed about a woman with the same blonde her as hers, a warm smile on her face as she was singing her a lullaby and holding her close, making her feel safe. She would tell her she loved her more than anything in the world and was the most precious princess to ever live on this planet. She'd imagined a dad with green eyes and a soft grin, who would teach her how to horse ride and would take her on his strong shoulders so she could see the world from up high. A little brother or sister, maybe, with whom she could play in their big yard.

But with time, she'd understood that these were only stories she'd imagined to help her find sleep at night, curled up in a dark street, her rags for only blankets to keep warm. Because if they'd loved her, they would have come to get her way sooner. And this had never happened. She was just an orphan, unwanted, unloved for so long. But she'd finally managed to build her own perfect little family, and she was so happy. It was the best victory she could have imagined.

"Something I didn't know about you, kiddo!" Sam said with a wide smile. "And what are you doing here instead of celebrating this with your family?"

"No rest for the waitress." She joked. "My birthday isn't anything important, really. And I need the money, for my son. I certainly won't take any day off."

"Would you at least let me buy you a drink, then?" He kindly offered.

"That's so sweet of you." She smiled, touched by the gesture. "but if Calvin catches me with a glass in my hand, I won't ever hear the end of it."

"Swan, what the hell are you doing again?" The boss's son then shouted, as if to illustrate her words. "We don't pay you to talk to the costumers, are you serious right now?"

"Talking about the devil." She sighed, walking a bit away from Sam and aware that her short break was already over.

"You shouldn't let him talk to you like that. You deserve better" The old man told her, before lifting his glass up in the air. "Happy birthday, kiddo. You're brave. It's a rare quality in this crazy world."

"Thanks, Sam." She said with a smile.

And, without further ado, she started to clean the counter again. She was now well aware that if she stopped once again during the evening, Calvin would do anything to make her life a living hell, and she wasn't about to let him do this the night of her birthday.

* * *

 The moon had replaced the sun for a long time already. The tavern stood right at the village's entrance, a few miles from the main city that was so much bigger than where Emma lived. The place wasn't protected by any fence and was surrounded by a thick forest, but the tavern was pretty famous in the area. The citizens were all regular costumers of the only real good tavern they could find nearby, and the village was almost right next to the harbor. The travelers had to cross the place to reach the bigger city, and were often taking a deserved break in the establishment. The Howling Wolf was therefore always crowded, and Emma was never left without something to do.

She walked out of the tavern, wrapping her old cape tighter around her shoulders to try and protect herself from the freezing cold. The place was empty. As always, she was the last one to get out. She'd worked extra-hours again to try and earn a bit more gold.

She looked around her for a few moments, and her heart fastened, as it would every night. Excited to see him, mostly. But also scared. Scared that he wasn't there, that something had happened to him, that he was gone and she'd lost him. She trusted him more than anyone, she trusted him more than she trusted herself and yet, she couldn't help herself but to be afraid. Too many abandons, too many tears and too much pain. Her past was catching up on her sometimes, and she couldn't do anything about it.

But then she noticed the dark figure walking toward her, his thumb looped in his belt, his steps assured and fast. She saw him smiling at her in the distance, and felt her entire being relaxing underneath his familiar gaze.

He was there. He was always there.

She didn't wait any longer. She rushed to the handsome man with dark hair and eyes as blue as the ocean in summer, smiling up at him. Killian Jones, former Captain Hook. Killian Jones, who had given up his pirate life for her. Killian Jones, who was taking care of her son – their son – while she was working. Killian Jones, with whom she'd decided to build a life. The man she loved. Her rock. Her soulmate.

He wrapped his left arm around her waist, hook resting on the small of her back, and she placed herself on her tiptoe to kiss him senseless on the spot. After two years spent together, after everything they'd been through, they were still more in love than ever.

She loved him so damn much. They'd both been broken by life and were a bit lost when they'd met. They'd found comfort in each other's arms. He'd given her everything, he'd given up his revenge on the Dark One, who'd killed the woman he loved back then, for her, for them. He was taking care of Henry as if he were his own son. He'd brought her walls down, same walls that she'd put around her heart to try and protect herself, because she'd been so hurt in the past. He'd proved to her that she could still trust people in this world.

They'd built a family, a home. They'd found happiness on the Jolly Roger, where they lived together, all three of them. Thanks to him, she could say that she was finally happy.

"Hey, handsome." She said, pulling a bit away to look up at him, her hand resting on his stomach.

"Hey, gorgeous." He replied in the same charming tone, what made her snort.

"Stop it already. I'm anything but pretty right now." She groaned, stretching a bit as his arm was still wrapped around her. "The tavern was crowded. I'm exhausted."

"Oh, believe me, Swan. You'd be wearing a burlap sack and still be the most stunning woman I've ever laid my eyes on." He answered softly, placing his hand on her cheek, making her smile and blush a little, because he always knew what to say to make her feel good. "Good day, today?" he continued, gesturing to the bag she was wearing on her shoulder.

She grinned widely and raised her eyebrows at him, opening the pouch to show him her treasure. Six little loaves of bread, three oranges, one ration of rice and two chicken legs. Every night, as the tavern was closing up, the employees were allowed to share the leftovers of the day between them, and since they were understaffed for a while now, she was able to bring more food back home.

The couple would generally let their son eat what he wanted, and would share what was left. It happened quite often for them to be happy with this amount of food. They would most of the time use her wage only to buy a complete meal for the little boy. Because she wasn't earning much, and money was disappearing like crazy. Especially since Henry was growing like weeds and was eating twice as much as he used to, growing out of his clothes so fast it would astonish her every time.

And they both had a dream. A wonderful dream, and they needed to save in order to live it. It was what would give them the strength to keep going, when they would both be exhausted, hungry or cold. This prospect of a better life awaiting for them at the end of the road was worth everything.

Leading a nomadic life on the Jolly Roger. Sailing from harbor to harbor. Buying products from one town to sell it back in another, and make a living out of this. Showing the world to their son. Just be happy, the three of them, forever.

Except that, to start this wonderful dream, they needed money. Lots of it, since they didn't wish to starve to death during the first few days. And her wage as a waitress, despite all her extra-hours, wasn't high. Saving wasn't easy.

Of course, Killian would help her financially every time he could. He would take small jobs here and there, woodsman, helping travelers to build their camp for the night, passing a message from one village to another. But he wasn't managing to find somewhere to work full time, since no one here wanted to hire a former pirate.

She hated that, she hated these people who couldn't see behind his past. He'd changed so much. He was so loving and kind and caring, he had the biggest heart she knew, and the citizens still couldn't understand how good of a man he was. His reputation was pursuing him, stressed by the hook he was still wearing as his left hand.

She knew how guilty he felt for not being able to bring more money back home. But she would comfort him, every time, with a soft word, a hug or a kiss. One day, they'd reach their dream. Maybe in a few years, sure, but she was willing to wait. For now, they were together, all three of them, and that was all that really mattered.

"We'll be able to last for an entire day with this." He noticed, leaning to press a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"Henry is gonna be so happy." She said, grabbing an orange, knowing just how much her son liked the fruit.

"He's waiting for you, by the way." He stated, looking at her with a playful smile, knowing all too well how she was going to react to these information.

She opened her eyes wide. "Are you kidding me? He's not in bed yet? Killian, it's one in the morning. He's ten years old..."

"Don't look at me like that, I can assure you this is not my fault!" He laughed quietly. "The lad insisted to stay awake and wait for you. Who could blame him, he didn't want to miss his mum's birthday."

"Oh, babe." She said, resting her head on his shoulder as he was holding her tightly against his chest for a few seconds. "You know that, technically, it's not my birthday anymore."

"We've barely had the time to see you today, love. We needed to celebrate this sooner than later." He said, stroking her spine and making her shiver. "And we do have a few surprises for you."

"What?!" She said, looking back up at him and slowly shaking her head. "What do you mean by surprises? You know we don't have the money for this..."

"Let's say that I've taken a few more jobs lately to be able to offer you what you deserve, darling."

She felt her eyes filling with tears, hearing him say those kind words. For as far as she could remember, before meeting Killian, she'd never received anything for her birthday. When they'd got together, they'd never really had the money to do anything special. He would always figure something out, taking her to a restaurant or spending an afternoon on the beach, so she would feel special and wanted and loved, but quite frankly, having him and her son by her side was all she needed to be happy.

She looked into his eyes to try and make him understand just how much this gesture was touching her soul. He'd always been the one good for big speeches in their relationship, and she didn't know how to make him understand how much she loved him. Him and her son were the center of her world.

She absently played with her necklace, on which was hanging his brother's ring, that he'd given her all those years before. It'd become one of her quirk when she was moved. He just smiled and held her even closer for a moment. An open book, he'd always called her. She knew he could understand her without words, he could guess how she was feeling in a heartbeat and always knew what to say. God, she was so in love with him. He ended up interlacing their fingers together and said softly :

"Shall we go? The lad is waiting for us."

She nodded and followed him in the dark of the forest. In the fifteen-minute walk they took to join the ship, he managed to make her laugh several times. They talked about anything, without having to force themselves, as always. He knew everything about her, just like she knew him by heart. They even stopped walking for a few seconds, as he was answering one of her teasing with a tickle fight that made her shriek. They were often behaving like two teenagers when they were together. Because Killian Jones wasn't only her lover and soulmate : he was also her best friend.

They ended up reaching the little harbor where the Jolly Roger was tied up. At first sight, you could think it wasn't such a safe place to raise a kid, but appearances could be deceptive. Nobody would have dared to attack Captain Hook's son. Even if Emma and Henry knew him as such a gentle and kind man, she knew what he could be like when he was angry. He would have killed anyone who would have made her or Henry suffer.

She wasn't that fond of that kind of violent behavior, but she was getting him. She would have done the same if someone had attacked any of her two boys. And the threat he seemed to be to those who didn't know him personally was allowing them to raise their son in a safe place. She wasn't going to complain about that.

As the good gentleman he always was, he made her climb on the deck first, then took her hand to lead her to the captain's cabin, where they both slept every night. Henry had inherited one of the other cabin, a bit smaller, but it gave them all the privacy they needed.

As soon as Emma entered the quarters, she noticed that the table that was standing in the middle of the little room had been all set for a dinner. Candles were lightened up, laying on a light red tablecloth, and three plates were neatly placed on it. She pressed Killian's fingers between her own to quietly thank him for all of this. She was feeling so touched, she was feeling loved and wanted, and she could never thank this wonderful man enough for making her feel that way. That's when her eyes fell on her son, who, his arms folded and used as pillows, had fallen asleep on the table while waiting for them.

She had a little tenderized smile, approaching Henry to kneel on the ground and watch him sleep. He wanted to pretend he was all grown-up already, but he was still looking so young for his age. Yet, he was the most mature, clever little boy she'd ever met.

He wasn't like the other kids of his age. He liked his books more than most of his peers, and she did everything she could to offer him as much books as possible with the little savings she had. It was the least she could do, she thought, he liked reading so much and she just wanted to make him happy. She gently pushed a strand of dark hair away from his face, running her fingers through his locks, like she used to do when he was little and she would help him find sleep.

The touch of her hand woke him up. Henry looked up and blinked with a sleepy expression that made her smile, slowly coming back to reality. He immediately grinned when he saw her, and wrapped his arms around her neck for a hug. As she was faltering because of the strength if his cuddle, chuckling a bit, he exclaimed enthusiastically :

"Happy birthday, mom!"

"Thanks, kid." She answered, dropping a kiss to his hair and still smiling at how happy he seemed.

She kept him against her for a while, just enjoying his presence by her side. She would often feel guilty for not being able to spend more time with him. Her job was stopping her from watching him grow up. Of course, she would always take a day off for his birthday and would do the best she could to be with him, but she wished she could have done more. She usually left the ship around nine to make everything ready at the tavern for lunchtime, and stayed there until it was dark.

She only saw her son a few hours a day, since he was most of the time already sleeping when she was coming back, and she hated that. She loved him so much. He was astonishing her every day with his cleverness, his kindness and humor, and she would have wanted to spend each minute of her life with him and Killian. But she also had to bring some money home and put food on the table. So she knew she didn't have a choice. She was just doing her best.

Henry ended up pulling away from her to turn to Killian with a wide smile. Her boyfriend chuckled because of how happy their son looked, and protectively placed his hand on his shoulder. She smiled, happy to see them so close. Henry's birth father was long gone. He'd disappeared, leaving her heart broken and letting her deal with another abandon. He didn't even know about his son.

She'd raised him all alone for seven years, exhausting herself to try and offer her son a decent life in their little room back at the tavern. And then, Killian had arrived and everything had changed. He'd always gotten along great with the little boy, that was actually what had made him and Emma get close at first, and Henry had finally found the paternal figure he'd been lacking for so long.

Killian was so wonderful with him, advising him, listening to him, making him laugh and chasing away his nightmares. He was his son too. It wasn't the biological bound that really mattered after all. Killian had always been there. And they were a perfect little family, close and as happy as they could be. She loved both of them beyond words.

"Killian, can we give mom her gifts, now that she's here?" Henry asked, eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Of course, lad." Killian said. "You first."

Emma got back on her feet to go join Killian as Henry was proudly getting something out of the cupboard, standing opposite to the bed. She shared a questioning glance with her boyfriend, who just smiled back at her and placed his hand on the small of her back. When she turned her attention to her son again, she saw him faltering under the weight of the biggest chocolate cake she'd ever seen, and she felt her lips parting in surprise, her mouth already watering at the sight in front of her.

She couldn't even remember the last time she'd eaten something that sweet and delicious. As a kid, she used to stare at the sweets disposed in the bakeries windows, until the manager came out to chase the dirty looking little girl dressed in rags, who disturbed the costumers. Then, when she'd had Henry, all her strengths had been gathered to give him a good life. She would always buy something of the sort for his birthday, but would never really eat it to leave him enjoy it on his own. And if Killian had brought her to some really good restaurants in their relationship and she'd had a taste of what it was like to eat what she wanted, it was the biggest cake she'd ever laid her eyes on.

She was a bit out of breath, and looked at her son placing the cake on the table and smiling up at her with pure happiness. Killian chuckled, amused by her awestruck expression, and briefly buried his nose in her hair to breathe her in. He then kissed her temple, what made her come back to reality :

"What… How..." She stuttered, unable to form an articulate sentence.

"I told you, Swan. I took some jobs." Killian simply shrugged as if it were nothing.

"What kind of jobs? And how many? That kind of stuff cost a fortune!"

"Don't you worry about this, lass. Let's say that I'm preparing for this date for a few months." He simply said, making her understand that he wasn't going to give her more information.

"Thank you." She said, approaching both of them to ask for a hug, so touched by their gesture. "Thank you so much."

"Wait." Killian chuckled slightly. "The surprises aren't over yet."

"Are you insane?" She tried to protest, wondering where he'd found all that money and what she'd ever done that was so good in her life to deserve such a loving and perfect family.

He cut her off with a quick peck on her lips, making her smile. "No buts allowed, Swan. Just enjoy it. And turn around."

She stopped trying to protest and just did as he'd told, while Henry was almost bouncing up and down in excitement. Killian gently made her blonde hair fall over one of her shoulder, tickling her neck and making her shiver. As she was trying to understand what was happening and was really starting to think that her family had turned crazy, he said softly :

"We've gone together to choose it, the lad and I. I Hope you'll like it."

And, before she could answer, the cold touch of a necklace reached her skin, about three inches above the ring Killian had offered her. Intrigued, she looked down to discover a beautiful silver necklace, and three little pendants hanging on it. One was a book, the other an anchor and the last one a feather. Henry and his passion for reading. Killian and the ocean. Herself and the swan, because of her last name. Their little family, represented in a single marvel.

She turned back to them, eyes wet with tears and not even trying to imagine how much he'd payed for this beautiful necklace, because she knew it'd had to cost a damn fortune. Father and son both looked at her with questioning gazes, waiting for her to say something. They shared a playful glance when they noticed they'd made her speechless.

"So, what do you think?" Killian simply encouraged her.

"I… it's… Thank you." She said, feeling a bit lost, because before meeting Killian, she'd never been used to being put first. "Thank you so much. It'll never leave my side."

They smiled at that, and she approached them, arms wide open to hug them both, trying to make them understand how happy she was and how much she loved them. And in the dim light of their room, she held her boys tight against her for a long, long time.

* * *

 "Would you tell me a story?" Henry asked, one arm under his neck to lift his head up more easily.

Killian and Emma were sitting on the edge of his bed. It was so late, their son should have been asleep for a long time, but they had lost track of time. Henry was already half-asleep despite his request, exhausted by the late hour and the amount of food he'd just ingested. Emma had to admit being full was making her pretty sleepy as well, as she'd never been used to that sensation. She smiled at her son and gently placed his blankets back so he wouldn't get cold. Then she said, turning to look at Killian :

"Sure thing, kid. What do you wanna hear?"

"Can you tell me the story of the lost princess, please?" He asked with his most adorable smile.

She narrowed his eyes at him to make him understand she wouldn't step into his trap, and he only smiled at her as an answer, still trying to coax her. She shook her head as Killian was quietly laughing, amused by their silent conversation.

The story of the lost princess was her son's favorite. It was a myth, saying that Snow White and Prince Charming had actually had a daughter the night of the Dark Curse, and that the baby was the only one who'd managed to escape the curse. Except it was nothing more than a legend to her. There was no proof of the existence of this little girl. Sure, Snow White had been pregnant right before the curse, but since no one had ever been able to cross the dome, there was no evidence of the princess ever being born.

It was just a glimpse of hope for those who thought everything could still change and the lost kingdom could one day come back to life. Because the story wasn't stopping there. It was said that the princess was destined to save her parents' kingdom. The savior, they all called her, someone capable of such powerful white magic it could break any curse. No one even knew the name of the kid.

This story shouldn't have had any kind of importance for her or her family, but it was without Henry, who had imagined since he was a toddler that Emma was actually the lost princess.

Sure, it was making sense and Emma could understand why he'd thought such a thing in the first place. He'd imagined this entire story because she was an orphan born the day of the Dark Curse, and never knew her parents. He just wanted to think himself to be a little prince and not a poor child, barely seeing his mom because she was working her life away.

It was normal and she hadn't tried to contradict him at first, thinking he was going to give up on this idea soon enough. But he'd carried on with it, claiming several times a week that she was the princess and had to go save her poor parents, that they were going to live happily ever after in a castle and everything would be okay. Like she was some kind of royalty. This kid had read way too many books.

She was starting to get really worried. He was ten now, and she didn't know if it was normal to still be holding on to such ideas at this age. And she didn't want him to live in this imaginary world and be disappointed at the end. She wasn't some kind of princess or Savior. She wasn't destined to do anything. She was just an orphan, exhausting herself at work to try and feed the family she'd managed to build over the years. She was never going to be more than that.

"It's a myth, Henry, not a story." She sighed.

"But mom..." He tried to protest.

"No, kid." She gently cut him off. "I'm not a princess. I'm not a Savior. It's not me. We don't even know of this kid ever existed in the first place. It's time to let it go, now."

He just shrugged at her, looking a bit disapproving at her protests and giving him the sassy look she had gotten used to every time she would say those words. Killian came to help her then, agreeing with her on this, and tried to make their son smile again by saying :

"Your mum is right, lad. But choose another story. Anything, I promise."

"Can you tell me the story of how you both met, then?" He said, grinning back at them.

Emma and Killian both shared an amused smile. The story of their meeting, as long and complicated as it was, was also one of Henry's favorite. It was eventful and full of twists, and he loved to hear his parents telling him how their lives had been turned upside down. Killian wrapped his arm around Emma's waist, pulling her close, and she started with a big smile, resting her head against her boyfriend's shoulder.

"Once Upon a time..."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! First of all, thanks for all the support you've already given me on this. You're all awesome!
> 
> So before starting, I just wanted to clarify a few details. The story is taking place at the same time it would have if they'd gone to Storybrooke and Emma had grown up in our world, if that makes sense. So it's 2011 in our world, basically. I therefore decided to use a modern language (except for Killian since he's 300 years old after all haha). I'm sorry if some things seem unclear because of the vocabulary I use, especially when I talk about the tavern. English isn't my first language, and I'm really doing the best I can!
> 
> On that note, enjoy! :)

**Almost 3 years ago...**

"Looking vey seductive, tonight, Swan."

"I'm repeating myself, but it seems like you don't understand, so here we go again. I'm not interested, Jerry. And I will never be." Emma replied without really paying attention to the man's comment. She was too focused on picking up the empty beer mugs laying in front of him, placing them on the tray she was carrying.

"C'mon." He insisted in a slurred speech. "Only for one night. I swear, you'll spend a great time. I'm not asking for much."

"I'm not an object" She rolled her eyes at the obviously drunk man, finally walking away as she was starting to feel oppressed.

"You're going to regret this..."

"I really doubt that" She cut him off, disappearing behind the counter to wash the mugs, feeling more and more annoyed.

She sighed in relief as she reached the safety of the bar, and started to work immediately. She was used to that kind of rude behavior. She was young, and that drew the attention of older men. More often than not, the indelicate blokes would let go after hearing her sharp sarcasm, not used to someone putting them in their place. But Jerry was a regular costumer, and he just wouldn't stop.

He was in his forties, with dirty blond hair, twisted teeth and gray eyes shinning with a cruel spark. She didn't trust him but, despite her uneasiness, she wasn't scared of him. She knew how to deal with that kind of jerks who didn't get the word  _no_. And her room was just above the tavern, he couldn't follow her there without someone noticing. She locked herself in every night, anyway. He wasn't representing any danger, she thought. He was just incredibly annoying.

"Swan, can you bring the rum to table eight?"

"Right away, Matt!" She answered, grabbing the tray her boss was handing her.

She made her way through the crowded tavern to reach said table eight. A bunch of people were sitting there, talking loudly and looking mildly drunk. A few men were playing a dice game, and were shouting words of joy at each other. Two women were surrounding a handsome thirty-something man, who was obviously the leader of the group if she could refer to his assured way of speaking. A sword was hanging on his belt, and he had a hook for a left hand.

Everything in these people yelled pirates.

She wasn't impressed. It wasn't rare for pirates to come in the tavern and drink some rum before going back to their plundering – or whatever it was that they were doing. She didn't flinch and leaned to place the tray on the table and go on with her shift.

Looking back up, she accidentally met the leader's gaze. She suddenly felt unsettled by how clear his eyes were. She didn't look away, and a shiver ran up her spine. He smiled at her, surprisingly softly for someone who was supposed to be a criminal. She stared at him for a few more seconds, before realizing the stupidity of her behavior, and finally walking away to go back to the bar.

 _It's getting weird if you start staring at strangers like that. You really do need some sleep, girl,_ she thought to herself. She shook her head and rubbed her arms to try and clear her mind up, trying to erase the pirate's gentle expression from her mind

Little did she knew she'd just shared her first moment with the man who was going to turn her life upside down.

She got back to work quite quickly after that, trying to move on from this strange encounter. And she managed to forget for a while how weird this stranger had made her feel, how fast her heart had started to beat at his sight and how connected she'd immediately felt to him.

It's only much later that reality caught up on her. It was more than one in the morning, now. Henry was asleep for a long time in their little room, locked from the outside with the key that was hanging on a chain and that never left her neck. The second key was in the room for Henry to use it, in case of emergencies. She knew they were safe up there, but she wasn't going to leave her seven-year-old without any protection. He was her entire world, she loved him more than anything, and she would have given everything to protect him. She just needed him to be safe.

It was so cold outside in the midst of winter. Coming back from the well, she was carrying a bucket of water. It was the third trip she took there that night. The first two buckets had been intended for the tavern, and she'd finally allowed herself to take some water for herself and her son.

The touch of her freezing fingers against the pail handle was hurting her. There was only two hundred yards between the well and the tavern, but it seemed like an eternity to walk there, outside in this weather. She tried to give herself some strength, sighing heavily. She had to keep on walking. Her teeth were clashing in her mouth, and she couldn't wait to be inside.

She was almost there, and she would finally be able to curl up under her old blankets on the floor of the room. It'd been weeks since she'd had a restful night. Henry would always wake up, screaming in fear because of some nightmares, and she would often spend a good part of the night trying to comfort him back to sleep.

She was doing her best, but she knew that at this pace, she would end up breaking at some point. She was only twenty-five and was still so young, but she felt like her mind and body were so much older. Broken by the long hours at work, the hard floor of the room, the sleepless nights and the lack of food, her body didn't answer as well as it'd once had. And her soul had been torn apart so many times, she felt like she'd lived for a thousand years already. But she had to go on. For her son, because he deserved a future, a better life than hers. She wanted nothing more but to give him that.

Finally, she saw the light of the tavern getting brighter in the distance. She fastened her pace, eager to find the warm of the building, but a noise behind her made her startle.

She turned back, sensing a danger. And she found herself face to face with a hooded figure. Her heart started to beat faster in fear. Her entire being stiffened, ready for a fight. She couldn't see the stranger's face, but could guess the figure belonged to a man. He took advantage of her surprise to grab her shoulders, and pushed her against the tavern's wall. She let go of the bucket, and the water spilled all over the floor.

She didn't know what to do. She couldn't scream. The tavern was empty at this late hour, she was the one closing it every night, and nobody would hear her except for Henry. She refused to entangle her son in this. Her surroundings were silent and still. She could feel her chest raising up and down at the fast pace of her breathing, and her heartbeats rang loudly in her ears.

The man's nails dug into the skin of her shoulders, as she was trying to move and get away from him. The stranger let go of a muffled sound, his hood fell because of the movement, and she could finally see his face.

It was Jerry. She should have known it. The guy just couldn't let it go. It was dark, but she could see at the light of the lantern hanging above their head and smell at his breath that he was drunk. His pupils were dilated, covering the gray of his eyes, and a cruel grin was distorting his face, divulging his twisted teeth. He got even closer to her, gluing his leg to her thigh, and she felt a shot of pure terror running through her veins.

She suddenly felt frozen by the fear. He had obviously not liked being rejected, and wanted a revenge. He was so damn drunk, and he could do anything to her. She knew that if she didn't get out of this state of panic quickly, he would hurt her, badly. Years in the streets had taught her what people could do.

God knows what he would do to her, before ditching her lifeless body in a dark corner of the forest. Henry would grow up without her, without never knowing what had happened to his mom. An orphan, just like her. She wouldn't let that happen. And this thought managed to wake her up.

She grabbed her attacker's arm, and put all the strength she could muster to kick the most sensitive part of his body. Her fear was heightening her force. She knew how to fight, living in the streets had taught her that as well. He leaned forward, trying to catch his breath, hands cupping where her knee had been seconds earlier.

She took advantage of that position to push him away, and tried to run to the front door, hoping to close it before he could reach her. The day after, she would tell Matt about what had happened, and he would never let Jerry set foot in the tavern again. But he managed to grab her sleeve, and he twisted her arm, pinning the limb behind her back and stopping her from moving.

She groaned in pain and tried to get away from him, but she was scared he would end up breaking her limb. They struggled for a bit, then everything changed.

As she was still wriggling, knowing that a broken arm would be nothing compared to what he would do to her if she didn't get away from there, Jerry suddenly let go of her. Not understanding what was going on, she turned on her heels, and what she saw made her frown in confusion.

Jerry was now laying on the ground, his nose bleeding heavily. Above him was standing the figure of a tall man with dark hair. The stranger leaned forward and grabbed his collar, forcing him to get back up. As Jerry's feet were searching for balance on the floor, the man said in a threatening groan :

"If I see you around here again, mate, you're dead."

His surprisingly pleasant voice was contrasting with his harsh words. It was deep, with an accent. He lifted his left arm a bit, and she was surprised to see a hook there instead of a hand. Exhausted and shaken up, she didn't realize right away the stranger was the man she'd served at the tavern a bit earlier. This same man who had made her feel so strange.

The dark-haired pirate let go of Jerry, and her attacker ran away as fast as he could, given his state. Then the man turned back to her. His beautiful blue eyes, somehow still shinning in the dark, met hers, and she finally realized who he was. Frozen on the spot, her heart beating so fast against her ribs, holding her painful arm, she couldn't move. And if she was being honest with herself, she didn't know if it was all because of what had just happened, or also because of this oh so beautiful gaze staring at her.

"Are you all right, love?" He asked, reaching forward in a thoughtful gesture.

She reacted right away. She stepped back, not ready to let someone touch her after what she'd just lived. And the way this man made her feel was scaring her to death. She didn't know why she felt so connected to a perfect stranger. And she was a bit upset that he'd had to help her. She knew she should have thanked him for his intervention, but she knew how to fight. She should have been able to defend herself. She'd always managed on her own, and she felt like she'd failed. And as she didn't know how to react, she put on her tough armor and said :

"I was doing great without you, thanks."

"Clearly" he simply replied, raising an eyebrow at her

She just shrugged at him and folded her arms, a bit wounded. He didn't seem to hold a grudge against her because of her rudeness, and continued with a smirk that made her heart do something quite strange.

"A simple  _thank you_  would have sufficed."

"Right. Make fun of me." She said, rolling her eyes.

"I wouldn't dare. Are you sure you all right?" He insisted without being impressed by her cold behavior. "I could walk you home if you want me to."

"Do you really think the fact you made Jerry go gives you the right to come into my bed?" She attacked him, ready for a fight.

Her comment wasn't hard to understand if you knew her story. Her past had taught her to be afraid of kindness. They all wanted something in return. And she'd learned quite early – way too early – that if a man made that kind of offer, he wanted something more. She'd had to protect herself since her childhood, and never really felt safe.

But she'd been wrong that time. The pirate's lips parted in outrage, and she immediately understood that she'd been mistaken about him. He really had wanted to help her. She felt herself blushing, thanking the darkness around that prevented him from seeing her.

"Are you being serious?" He said, frowning and smirk long gone. "Are you saying this because I'm a pirate? Think whatever you want about my kind, lass, but I do have a code. I respect women, and this is not about to change."

"Sorry." She mumbled, forced to apologize since she knew she'd been completely wrong and he was being sincere.

"My offer still stands." He said in a deep, serious voice. "If I can be of any assistance..."

"That's fine. I live here."

He nodded and his eyes fell on the empty bucket at her feet. The spilled water had started to freeze, making the floor shine. He leaned to grab the handle and said :

"Would that help if I went to fill this at the well?"

"I can go myself." She answered a bit more gently, surprised by this stranger's kindness, but still a bit mistrustful. "It's not far."

"After what you just lived, it might be best if you stayed inside and got warmed up, love. I'll be back soon."

And, without waiting for an answer, he disappeared into the darkness of the night. She stayed still for a bit, completely taken aback. Her body was shaking because of the attack, and she was so confused by the pirate's behavior. She'd got scared, because life had broken her so many times. She'd attacked him, had been incredibly obnoxious when he'd just wanted to help, and he was still offering his kindness. Those kind of things never happened.

She'd put those walls around her heart to push away those who wanted to enter her life, because she'd been too hurt in the past and didn't think her heart could take another wound. These people would usually run away without a second thought. But not him. He was different, he'd stayed. And this was without talking about the strange things her heart had done as she was talking to him.

She finally walked back into the safety of the tavern, her head spinning a bit. She didn't know if it was because of Jerry and the terror she was still feeling at the idea of what could have happened, or because this pirate was behaving so kindly. Why was he being so nice? She took her head in her hands, trying to ignore the little voice at the back of her mind, yelling that she could trust him. She just couldn't.

She wouldn't allow herself to open her heart to someone else who would just break it all over again. She couldn't take another abandon. That was the reason why she didn't have any friends, any lovers. Only a few acquaintances here and there. Because she knew that if she let them too close to her heart, they would hurt her. And she couldn't let that happen again. She needed to protect herself, if it was the only lesson she'd learned from her troubled past.

The stranger was back a few minutes later, as she was tortured by unsettling contradictory thoughts. Her heart was yelling she could trust him, while her mind was answering she would get hurt again. She so wanted to have someone she could count on, deep down, someone she could confide in, a friend. But suffering again wasn't a possibility. And she couldn't trust a pirate, of all people. He was going to hurt her.

So she put her armor back on, and forced herself to keep calm. Looking up at him, she carefully avoided his eyes and felt victorious when her heart didn't skip a beat. She whispered a cold "thanks", grabbing the bucket he was handing her, not knowing what to do next.

"It was no troubles." He answered with a kind smile. "Are you sure you'll be all right? You didn't even tell me your name."

She wavered for a second, and felt his stare burning on her skin. She wanted to seem insensitive and cold, but this bloke intrigued her. She wanted to understand why he was making her feel this way, and why she felt like she could trust him while she didn't even know him.

And then she decided that giving her name couldn't do her any wrong, anyway. He couldn't hurt her with these information. So she finally met his eyes again, felt a shiver running up her spine, and said in a low voice :

"Swan. Emma Swan."

"Captain Hook." He answered, smiling. That name rang a bell, and she remembered all the rumors she'd heard about this man, saying that he was a feared, cruel pirate. She had never had the time to pay attention to those said rumors, but he certainly didn't seem as bad as the people said. "But you can call me Killian Jones if you'd like. It's a pleasure to meet you, Swan."

And, once again, not giving her the time to answer, he turned back and left the tavern. She stayed still for a while in the middle of the empty room, perplexed and her heart beating strangely fast in her chest.

* * *

"Swan, clean this mess right now! The first clients are already in. Do you really think I pay you to do nothing?" Calvin barked, throwing a cloth at Emma's face. She luckily managed to grab it before it hit her, and her jaw clenched in anger.

"Your father is the one who pays me, asshole." She replied, narrowing her eyes.

She was used to his rude comments and would usually let it go without a fight, but she was nervous and tired, and she couldn't take it anymore. Henry had been tortured by nightmares all night long, calling for her in panic. When he'd finally calmed down, she'd laid back down on the floor, but hadn't been able to find sleep. Despite the days that had passed since Jerry's attack, she was still tortured by the idea of what could have happened if she hadn't been able to get away from him, and the images that had flashed behind her eyelids had made her unwilling to close her eyes. She was exhausted, almost falling asleep on the spot.

Calvin raised his eyebrows, looking at her defiantly. He wasn't used to her replying something. It was one of the first time she'd actually insulted him. He took three steps toward her, and looked down at her face. She forced herself not to shrink. He was incredibly tall and seemed so threatening.

"Oh, so you want to play, you little bitch?"

And on that lovely note, he spilled the entirety of his ale on the table she'd just cleaned. She didn't say anything back, staring at him, her heart thumping in rage. She stayed silent and waited for him to walk away, pretending she didn't care while she'd been on the edge of actually punching him for a second.

She was sick of his disrespect. The worst was that she couldn't do anything about it, anything at all. His father was her boss, and if he liked her, he wouldn't accept her doing something to his son. She couldn't lose that job, she couldn't even imagine this possibility. She needed it to survive, to make Henry happy. Her son was the most important person in her life. She loved him more than anything in this world, and she felt able to bear anything for him.

But it didn't mean that she wasn't upset. As he was turning back and walking to the kitchen, she finally allowed her tears of rage to fall. She quickly wiped them off her face so no one could guess she'd been crying. She had more important things to do. So she leaned once again to clean the dirty table with a sigh of exhaustion.

"Are you okay, love?" Said a familiar voice, coming from the closest table.

She looked up, but knew who had talked without having to see him. Only a few clients were sitting in the tavern as it was still early, but Hook was there, looking at her with a concerned frown. They'd met the week prior, and he'd come every single day since. She was starting to think his ship had a problem for him to stay that long in the same area.

He would try to start conversations with her, but she would always push him away. She was scared, scared of getting attached to him, and mostly of the fact she felt so connected to him, as if they'd known each other for years. He was a pirate, she would tell herself at night, when she was trying not to think about the attack and the desire of letting him in just a little bit was the strongest. He was hurting people for a living and would only add scars to the dozens ones already distorting her heart.

But he wouldn't pay attention to her cold answers or her eyes rolls. He would continue to try and talk to her, and she would always walk away, and they seemed stuck in this endless dance. She was tired of this, tired of being afraid, but she couldn't allow anyone else to get close to her. The best way she'd found to do so had been to form a true armor around herself, armor that she would only take off with her son. Because he was her world, and she didn't have to protect herself while being with him.

She didn't even try to mumble something in return, a lump stuck in her throat and knowing the only thing that could come out of her mouth right now was a sob. She just nodded to reassure him, since his concern seemed genuine. Hook looked at her without seeming convinced, and offered :

"I could make him regret his behavior, if you want to."

"It would only worsen things." She managed to say.

"As you wish." He only replied with a soft smile.

As she was about to thank him anyway, because no one had ever paid attention to how she was feeling before and she felt suddenly so grateful, a shriek coming from the stairs made her startle and turn. A little brown head rushed toward her, and she squatted just in time to welcome her son in her arms.

"Mommy, Mommy!" He said, looking horribly panicked.

"What's the matter, kid?" She asked in a soft voice, all her anger long forgotten as comforting her son was the only thing that mattered anymore.

"There is a mouse in the room!"

"Again? Are you sure?" She asked, biting her bottom lip.

"I swear, Mommy!" He said, snuggling a bit closer to her.

She frowned and gently stroked his back to console him. Her son was deathly scared of rodents, and she'd tried to chase the same mouse away several times without any result. She sighed at that, thinking that everything was going wrong lately. She kissed her little boy's hair and promised :

"It's okay, Henry, I'm going to make it go away, I promise. Calm down, kid, everything's all right..."

"Emma, what's going on, again?!" Calvin exclaimed, getting out of the kitchen, alerted by Henry's sobs. "Your son isn't supposed to be here!"

"He's afraid, Calvin." She sighed, still trying to comfort her little boy.

"That doesn't matter! Teach him how to be a man!" He answered, and she clenched her jaw so she wouldn't start insulting him again. She hated that kind of comments.

"I'm taking a break." She said instead of the insults burning her tongue. "I need to find this mouse."

"Are you kidding me?" He immediately shouted, but she cut him off, getting back on her feet and scowling at him.

"Give me a break! I'll skip dinner time to redeem myself, okay? I have a son to comfort and this is the only important thing right now."

He seemed about to explode because of her insolence, but she didn't give him the time to do so. Her son didn't need to hear this jerk insult her on top of everything. She gently led Henry a bit further into the tavern, and knelt in front of him. Wiping off the tears rolling down his cheeks, she said with a soft smile :

"I promise I'll make things better, kid. But you're gonna have to come with me to the room, okay?"

"Oh no, Mommy, please!" He protested, looking at her with big sad eyes. "I don't wanna see the mouse again!"

She sighed, feeling guilty for scaring her son like that. But she didn't have a choice. It wasn't unusual for Henry to go out and play in the forest in summer, but it was so cold outside and he couldn't get sick. And she just couldn't leave him at the tavern with Calvin. If Matt had been there, she would have done so, because he liked her son and Calvin was behaving when his dad was around, but her boss was absent that afternoon. She was scared that he would hurt Henry because he hated her, and she couldn't take that risk.

"I'm so sorry, kid. I don't know what else to do." She apologized, feeling tears filling her eyes at her son's distress. All she wanted was for him to be happy, and she felt like she'd failed him.

"No, please, don't make me go back there!" He whined, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face in the crook of her neck.

She held him close to her, wondering how she would be able to calm her son down and convince him to come with her. She just wanted him to stop crying, his sobs were breaking her heart. Hook's voice suddenly rang from above her head, and he kindly offered :

'I could keep an eye on him if you want me to."

She raised an eyebrow, taken aback by this unexpected offer. She looked up at him to see if he was being serious, and got back on her feet, Henry grabbing her waist to stay close to her. There was no hint of mockery in his blue eyes, and his gentle smile made them look even brighter. Had that pirate just offered to watch her son? What did he want in return?

"I don't have anything to give you." She said, a bit mistrustful as she'd learned a long time ago that everything came with a price in this world.

"I'm not asking for anything in return." He shrugged. "I'm staying here anyway. I could as well be useful."

"You want to watch my seven-year-old for me?" She asked, wondering if she'd understood correctly. They obviously didn't have the same definition of the word pirate. She thought he would have been better at plundering and killing than at watching little kids. "Do you even have any experience taking care of kids?"

"A bit." he said vaguely, and she would only learn much later that he wasn't lying and that he'd had to take care of a teenager once.

"I'm not sure..." She hesitated, biting the inside of her cheek.

She just couldn't trust an almost stranger with the most important person in her life. Especially since this said stranger had a hook for a left hand and was making a living out of stealing. But she also knew that she didn't really have a choice. And something in his bright blue eyes, a spark of softness, yelled that she could trust him. That he wouldn't hurt her, ever. She wanted to trust her instinct, but she was also scared. Scared to lose her entire world if something happened to Henry.

"I don't think you could find another solution." He said, looking almost sorry.

"All right then, Jones." She surrendered, deciding to use her special ability to see if she could trust him, because he was right and she needed someone to take care of Henry for a little while. "Look at me in the eyes, and promise me that you won't hurt my son. I have a superpower, you see." She added, seeing his questioning gaze. "I know when people aye lying to me. You can't fool me."

"I'll look after your lad and protect him on my life, Swan. I promise." He said, not a hint of teasing in his voice, and looking absolutely serious.

She narrowed her eyes, stared at him for a few seconds, but finally had to admit the obvious. He was telling the truth. As far as she could remember, she'd always had this power. It was the only thing that had never betrayed her. And he was being honest : he wasn't going to hurt Henry.

And he couldn't really do something to her son anyway. More clients had come in the tavern during their conversation, and her son knew damn well that he couldn't go out without telling her. He would start yelling if the pirate tried anything. She then nodded and took a deep breath, placing her hand on Henry's shoulder to say :

"Okay, Henry. This is Killian. He's going to take care of you while I go chase the mouse, okay?"

"Hi, Killian." Henry said a bit shyly, and Jones squatted to be on eye-level with him and smiled.

"Hi, lad" He answered so softly it made her blink in surprise, because she wouldn't have expected that coming from a pirate.

"Kid, if something goes wrong, just yell and I'll be there in a heartbeat, alright?" She said, glaring at her son, who nodded in understatement.

"Still have troubles trusting me, Swan?" Hook asked with a somewhat teasing smile.

"Oh, believe me, Jones. It's been a long time since I last trusted someone." She just answered, and he lost his smirk to look at her in concern.

She didn't give him the time to add anything and make her heart skip a beat again. She leaned to drop a kiss to Henry's head, promising him she would be right back. She was feeling strange. Hook's soft gaze was unbalancing her, and she was mostly surprised that she wasn't even worried about leaving her son with an almost stranger, who was on top of everything a feared pirate.

* * *

After half an hour spent at chasing the mouse, Emma finally managed to catch it thanks to a trick including a little chunk of cheese she'd stolen in one of the plate in the kitchen. She immediately went to free the poor animal outside, trapping it in a little box for the trip. She really didn't want to kill the rodent, the mouse hadn't done anything wrong after all.

She came back inside the tavern, exhausted but knowing that the rest she desired so much was nowhere to be seen. On top of everything, she wasn't going to be able to eat a real meal since she'd taken her break earlier. But she was relieved to have caught the mouse, and wasn't going to complain. She never did, after all.

Before going back to work, she approached Henry and Hook so she could free the pirate from his watch. They were both sitting at a table in a corner of the tavern, and she stopped for a second, surprised. Her son had a wide smile on his face, and was enthusiastically talking to Jones.

She tilted her head, perplexed. Her son was a shy little boy, it wasn't in his habits to trust strangers so easily. It was definitely unexpected to see him behaving so naturally with the pirate, as if he'd known him for years.

But she was glad to see her boy so happy and cheerful, and she felt a smile spreading on her lips, her exhaustion long forgotten. She approached them, placing her hands on the table to talk to Henry.

"I fixed it, kid." She stated, sitting next to him for a minute. He looked up from the piece of paper he was looking at, on which were written strange scribbles she couldn't decipher. "The mouse is gone. How is it going?"

"That's great!" He said, turning to look at Hook with a smile. "And we're fine! Killian's awesome!"

She placed her hand on her son's back and turned to look at Jones and mouth a quiet "thank you", offering him a real smile, maybe for the first time. He nodded with a grin, as if to show her it had been his pleasure, and she felt strangely lighter. Because she felt like she could finally listen to her instinct, and trust this man. He'd taken care of her son while not asking for anything in return, he'd made him smile, and she was feeling so grateful. Seeing Henry happy was all that she wanted. And if Jones could make him grin so widely, she was glad to let him in just a little bit.

"You can go back to the room, now." She added. "But you'll have to eat alone tonight. Yesterday's leftovers are in the cupboard, as usual. Call me if you need anything, all right? I'll stay here."

"Oh, Mommy, could I stay with Killian for a bit?" he pouted. "Please? He's teaching me how to recognize the constellations" He added, showing the sheet laying on the table.

"Henry, I'm sure Hook is very busy and has a lot of things to do." She gently tried, assuming that Jones wouldn't want a kid to cling to him.

"I'm staying here all night long." The pirate then answered, and she turned to him, raising her eyebrows in surprise. "I can continue with my lesson. Come on, Swan." he added, seeing that she didn't seem convinced. "I promise it's no bother. And what could go wrong? You're staying right there."

"Well, okay then." She ended up sighing after a minute of hesitation, encouraged by the hopeful smile her little boy was offering. "I guess you can stay."

"Oh, thank you, Mommy!" Henry shouted, looking so happy, and she smiled at that, a bit surprised because her son had never been that enthusiastic about spending time with someone he barely knew.

"All right, kid. I have to go back to work." She then said, pressing a kiss on his forehead before getting off the chair she was sitting on. "Be good while I'm gone."

"Promise." He answered with a wide grin.

She gave Hook a grateful look as she walked past him, and he just answered with a kind wink, clearly meaning that he was happy to help her. A bit unbalanced by this constant kindness he seemed to be displaying, and by how glad her son looked, she got back to work, trying to make Calvin forget about the half an hour she'd spent chasing the mouse.

During her shift, she regularly glanced at Hook and Henry to make sure that everything was going okay, but they both seemed to be having a great time. Jones seemed good with Henry, making him laugh all the time, and her heart did that strange thing it seemed to always be doing at the pirate's presence again. He even bought a meal to Henry, and they spent their time chuckling at private jokes they shared, until her son fell asleep on the table, his arms used as pillow.

It was late already, and she'd been working for hours. She gestured towards Matt, who'd finally arrived, to tell him she was taking a two-minute break, and she joined Jones to go take her sleeping son in her room. She smiled at Hook again to thank him for being so nice with her son. He'd really made his day brighter, she could see it at the little smile Henry still had while sleeping. As she was about to take her son in her arms to carry him upstairs, Jones suddenly stopped her :

"Let me, Swan. I'll do it."

She didn't try to refuse the offer. It was as if these hours spent with Henry had made them grow closer as well. She trusted him, now, a real trust that had appeared with seeing her son laugh with the pirate. It's only as she was guiding him towards her room that she realized the importance of what she was doing.

Nobody aside from Matt had ever entered their room. She would never bring anyone up there. It was their place, herself and her son were the only ones allowed to come in. Sure, she'd had a few one-night stands through the years, usually with travellers she was sure she would never see again, but she would always go at their place, and would never stay. She always preferred to spend her night beside her son. And she was about to let a man she knew for barely a week enter their special place.

The more surprising was that she didn't even feel scared about it.

Hook didn't make any comment about how small and mere the room was. He only leaned to place a still sound asleep Henry on the only bed, and she tucked him in, kissing his head in a tender gesture. They both got out, and she carefully locked the door behind her to keep her son safe.

Jones stopped in the hallway to wait for her. She leaned against the wall and faced him for a while, not really knowing what to say to thank him. He'd been wonderful, and he'd won her entire trust with this simple gesture. She didn't know how to say this with words, especially since she hadn't trusted anybody for so long. Luckily, she didn't need to. He smiled at her and started talking.

"So, you live here?"

"Yeah, it's been seven years. I came to work here right after Henry was born."

"Where are you sleeping? I only saw one bed." He frowned.

"On the floor. I let Henry have is own bed. He sleeps better that way."

"It's brave." He said with a gentle smile.

"It's only fair. I'm his mother. It's my duty to take care of him."

"And the father…?"

"Gone for a very long time." She sighed, shaking her head, trying not to dive into those painful memories.

"Your son is a wonderful lad." He continued, changing the subject as he'd guessed she wasn't comfortable talking about her past, and she felt grateful once again.

"He seems to like you. And it's a rare thing, he's usually quite shy."

"I didn't do much." He shrugged, and she smiled.

"Thank you, Killian." She then said, using his name for the first time without even realizing it. "Really. What can I do to thank you? Will a drink be enough?"

"You don't owe me anything, Swan." He replied, refusing the offer. "It was my pleasure to take care of Henry."

She felt her smile widening a little bit more, and gently bit her bottom lip, feeling suddenly so surprisingly and incredibly happy. This guy was definitely full of surprises. She wondered for a second if it was the pirate stereotype that was false, or if he would only behave that way with her and her son.

She would only learn much later that, outside of the tavern, he was this feared pirate everybody talked about. It was only with them that he became his true tender self. She couldn't understand so early that she helped him be the best version of himself, just like he'd managed without that much time to break a small part of her walls.

"I never thought I'd see one of those, one day." He said playfully, drawing her away from her thoughts.

"See what?" She asked, amused by his teasing tone.

"A smile." He said, making her chuckle. "You should do it more often. It suits you."

She blushed at that, she wasn't used to compliments. But she didn't say anything back, she just walked him to the tavern as he was sitting back at his table, looking at her as she was working. She felt a bit dizzy while cleaning the tables and serving the clients. She couldn't think about anything else than Killian and his tender smile.

She didn't know then that this man would soon become the center of her world.

* * *

**Nowadays**

Henry was carefully listening to them. Emma could see that he was fighting sleep, just to listen a little bit longer to this story he yet knew by heart. The story of how they'd become a family. She smiled at him, and ran her hand through his hair. Killian kissed her shoulder, holding her close, and she finally resumed her tale.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! first of all, a big thanks to everyone who is following, commenting or simply reading this fic, this means so much to me!
> 
> I wanted to talk a bit about the geography of the Enchanted Forest in this fiction, since I forgot to do it before. We don't know much about the EF in the show, so this set up comes right from my imagination. Here, the EF is basically a land that is surrounded by the ocean in each direction. It's not that big, since we can cross from South to North in about three or four weeks by horse. Emma lives in the far North, and Snow White's kingdom is in the far South. About a quarter of the EF has been touched by the curse, and this includes Snow White's, Cinderella's, Ariel's and basically every kingdom we talk about in the show. In this story, now that the Dark Curse has happened, the parts of the Enchanted Forest that haven't been touched are ruled by lords and ladies.
> 
> I hope you'll like this long chapter! :)

**2 and a half years ago…**

And Killian continued to come to the tavern every day after that. He would spend a lot of time with Henry, listening to the little boy telling him stories or teaching him about the ocean and the sky. He would tease Emma and make her laugh several times a day, what had been highly unusual before he came into her life.

Back then, she didn't wonder why he was always alone, far from his crew and the group she'd seen the night she'd met him. It's only much later that she learned the truth. He was neglecting his pirate life for Henry and herself. Because Henry was bringing back the man he'd once been a long time ago, and he'd thought before meeting them that this soft, paternal side of him was long gone. And because the idea of Emma losing her smile was making him physically sick. It was the reason why he'd dedicated himself to making her laugh, every day. He was doing a great job at it.

He didn't know back then that it was love. It'd been too long since he'd loved someone. As she didn't want to believe that she was having feelings for this man she was getting closer to by the second. She just enjoyed his presence by her side, making her day brighter. His help to take care of Henry, and his smile when he would insist to pay her a real meal. Their conversation during her breaks, during which she would often end up laughing louder than she'd ever done.

And one day, she realized she was waiting for his arrival. She would regularly glance at the door as soon as the tavern was open, expecting him to arrive and feeling her heart skipping beats. A little knot in her stomach at the idea he'd had enough of her, and wouldn't come anymore.

But he would always arrive eventually. And the knot would disappear when she would see his smile, and tell a joke to make her chuckle. She'd never had a real friend before, not for years anyway. She'd been so broken and hadn't wanted to get attached for so long, but it was before Killian. He was making her days so much brighter, and she wasn't ashamed to admit that she liked his company. She felt good about herself, more confident maybe, she was less tired and Calvin's rude comments weren't reaching her anymore. Everything was good.

They knew each other for a little over a month when, after putting Henry to bed, he offered his help to close the tavern. It wasn't unusual for him to stay with her until the end, and she accepted with a smile. As the last clients had just gone and she'd closed the door for the night, she walked to the bar to place two glasses and a bottle of rum on the table before him. Smiling down at his surprised expression, she said :

"Want a drink?"

"Swan, I already told you you didn't owe me anything. It's with pleasure that I stayed with you tonight..."

"I want to do this!" She chuckled, sitting down face to him. "Henry's asleep, and we're alone. We should as well enjoy it, don't you think?"

"Let me pay, then." He said, always the gentleman. "At least for my own drinks."

"We'll see after" She replied, waving her hand in the air, before filling in his drink. "Cheers, captain."

She was in such a good mood, that night. Killian had been even funnier than usual, and Henry had smiled all day long. On top of everything, Calvin hadn't come to the tavern, and she hadn't had to bear with his unpleasant presence. She was feeling good, and just wanted to have fun with the man she now considered to be her closest friend. She didn't take the time to have fun, usually, and she really wanted to enjoy that night. She deserved it.

He winked at the nickname she'd given him, and placed his glass against hers before drinking his rum in one big sip. They drank a few glasses, and she started to feel a bit lighter. They were talking about anything, as always, and he was playfully teasing her, making her roll her eyes in a falsely annoyed way.

Her head was spinning a little, and she hadn't felt that good for a very long time. The alcohol made her laugh more easily, and Killian seemed to enjoy this cheerful side of her she'd thought long forgotten. Then, he suddenly turned serious. He placed his empty glass on the table before him, and asked in a low, gentle voice :

"Tell me something, Swan..."

"Yeah?" She answered, curious to know the reason why he was suddenly looking at her so seriously.

"I don't wish to make you uncomfortable, and I wouldn't take it badly if you decided not to answer me, so don't feel forced. But we know each other for a while, now. And I was wondering : How is it that you're all alone to take care of the lad?"

Far from being upset by his question, she smiled to erase his embarrassed look, and filled both their glasses once again. She would usually have put her armor back on, right there. She didn't talk about her past, it was too painful, and diving into those memories was always making her feel stupid. But the alcohol helped. And it was Killian she was talking to. She trusted him, she trusted someone for the first time in years. And she wanted to know what it felt like to confide in somebody.

"So, the famous captain wants to know more about me, huh?" She asked playfully, making him smile a little.

"Only if you wish to, of course." He answered almost shyly, scratching the back of his ear, as always when he was embarrassed. "But aye. I'd like to know more about your beginnings."

"All right, then. But brace yourself, Jones. Because this is a long story."

He placed his elbows on the table to show her he was listening, what made her smile. She took a deep breath, knowing diving back into those memories was going to be painful. And, finally, she started :

"It all began a bit more than twenty-five years ago, the same morning the people of the Enchanted Forest discovered that the Dark Curse had hit Snow White's kingdom. Yeah, that's right. The Curse and I share the same birthday." She laughed a bit, seeing that his eyes had opened wide in surprise. "I was barely a few hours old when a young woman found me in the middle of the woods. I was wrapped in a blanket and the name Emma was etched on it. This is how I know my name, and this is the only thing I have left of my birth parents. They didn't even bother to leave me near a house for someone to take care of me. They just left me to die in the dark of the forest. Luckily, this woman found me, or this would already be the end of my story."

"Bloody hell, Swan, I had no idea. This is horrible." Killian said, looking genuinely shocked, and Emma just shrugged at him and smiled to show him she was all right.

"Wait. If you already react that way, I can't even imagine for the rest." She joked. "So, this woman took me in her arms, and tried to calm my tears down for a while. I don't know what happened exactly, but she decided to adopt me. She couldn't have children, and she wanted to be a mother so badly. Finding an orphan in the woods was a gift from the gods for her. But her husband wasn't agreeing with this decision. You see, it was making him secretly really glad that his wife couldn't have children. He hated them more than anything, and he hated me even more for not being his. And this is how I became Judy and Eric's daughter. It's Judy who took care of me during my first years. I know that she taught me how to read and write, and that she was so gentle, the best mom I could have wished for. I can't remember much about her, except that she had long red hair, and I can still recall her voice sometimes, when she was singing me a lullaby to help me fall asleep. Eric wasn't paying any attention to me, but I didn't care. I loved Judy, and for a few years, I had a mommy. And then she died when I was five."

Emma took a sip out of her rum to give herself some courage to keep going. She was still missing Judy sometimes, even if she'd lost her so long ago. She had been such a good mom to her. Killian was still listening carefully, head titled to show her he was all hers :

"A disease got her in a few weeks. No healer knew what was wrong with her, and she just faded away. She was so young, so sweet. She told me stories until the very end, because she didn't want me to worry. I was beside her when she died. And I can recall her funeral. I remember how Eric dragged me by the hand to get me home as I was crying, begging him to let me stay by her grave, just for a little bit longer. He told me that everything was going to change. He sold my clothes and toys. He dressed me with rags. And he forced me to go panhandle, making me look like the orphan he told me I was, so I could bring some money home. He told me I had to pay my rent. I couldn't understand what he meant back then, but it was ironic since he barely fed me. I spent three years in this situation. I grew up in that loveless life, and I finally realized it wasn't right. I thought for a long time about what to do, and I finally decided that running away wouldn't change anything, except that I would keep the money I earned panhandling, to buy me something to eat, and not keep Eric rich."

She had no idea of what Eric had become, or if he was even still alive. She didn't want to know, deep down. She despised this man, who had made her feel unloved and worthless. She was just a kid, searching for a place in this world. She couldn't understand how such a sweet, loving woman such as Judy had been able to fall in love with this animal that Eric was.

"So when I turned eight, I ran away." She resumed. "I took the blanket my birth parents had left me, and the bootlace Judy had given me just before dying. I'm still wearing it to this day." She said, showing Killian the old, faded shoelace tied around her wrist. "In memory of the only mother I've ever had. And then I walked, trying to put some distance between me and Eric, while staying in the same area, because it was the only thing I knew. I just went to the other side of the village, and he never found me, or never looked for me. I guess I'll never know. I chose myself a last name, Swan because it was my favorite animal and I hoped that, one day, I could be as majestic as one of those. I sat there, and panhandled, like I had done every day for three years. I could buy myself some food, even if it wasn't much, and I would sleep in dark streets, under pieces of cardboard to keep warm at night. And I survived, and I kept growing. Except I grew up maybe a little bit too much. When I reached my teenage years, people didn't want to give me money without anything in return."

She shivered, remembering the wanting expression of the older men, staring at her as she was still just a kid. Some people were sick. She'd had to learn that way too soon.

"So I started to take small jobs here and there, trying to earn a bit of gold. I managed to avoid the men wanting for me to give them more. My body is mine, and mine only, and this is the limit I've set so long ago. And, while working, I got better at what I was doing. Since I looked more than my actual age, I lied, and I convinced a merchant to hire me as his helper. He thought I was at least fifteen, while I was only thirteen, still just a little kid. It worked for a few years. I had a roof above my head. I was housed, fed, and I learned how to do something I actually liked. I was starting to think I had a future outside of the streets, I was going to be happy. But, once again, everything changed in the span of a few minutes. The merchant – Mark – was an honest man, and he ended up realizing I wasn't as old as I pretended to be. I was fifteen then, I was working there for a couple of years. He was ready to give me his shop when he would be too old to work. But he thought I was much older. When he learned the truth, he was furious. He hated liars. He told me it wouldn't have bothered him to hire someone as young as I was, but he wouldn't work with someone who had lied. He didn't trust me anymore. I couldn't do anything to defend myself, to convince him to keep me, because he was right, I had lied. I found myself in the streets again, unable to find another job. So I started to steal."

She sighed, taking another sip out of her drink. She was ashamed of her years as a thief. She'd done so to survive, but she wasn't proud of what she had become back then. "I was good at it, you know? I was discreet and fast, and it was easy, to steal for a living. I took jewelry, to sell them back on the black market. When it wasn't that, it was gold from the nobles' pockets, or food on the markets. And… that's when I met Neal."

She wavered for a second. It was the first time she talked with someone about that part of her life. It was strange to do so, and to see how interested Killian was, not seeming to judge her. She could trust him, she knew it. It was just painful to talk about.

"Before I keep going, I have to warn you about something. I lied to Henry. I told him his dad died in a bar fight, trying to defend an innocent man, right before I discovered I was pregnant. I hate lying, but he couldn't know the truth. It would have been too painful for him. It's too much. Here's what really happened : Neal was a thief, just like I was. Older, more confident. We got along right away. We understood each other, or at least I thought we did. He didn't know anything about my past, and I didn't know anything about his. We were just two fugitives keeping each other warm at night. Our little love story went on for a few months. I felt like I finally belonged somewhere. One day, we decided to turn our lives around. We made a plan. We were meant to steal a suitcase of marvels from a jeweler. I was the one who had to go, because I was faster. He was supposed to join me after the operation, in a corner of the forest. The suitcase was worth millions, and we had planned to ran away with the gold we would earn selling it, go to another town and start a new life, with money this time. Except he never came."

She blinked, focusing on Killian's gentle gaze to be able to go on. She hated that part of her story. Because she had trusted the wrong person, again. "Instead of finding him, like I should have, I found the sheriff. He didn't even let me speak, and threw me in a cell. I was seventeen, and there was a trial, led by the lord of the city. I was destined to spend seven months in a dark, cold cell, all alone. I was freezing there for two long weeks when I discovered I was pregnant with Henry. I'm not gonna waste your time with this part of the story. A pregnant teenager in a cell isn't anything interesting. I was just so desperate, and didn't know what to do, didn't know how I would manage with a child. And then I was freed. I was about to give birth, didn't have a job, had nowhere to go and no one to help me while still being a kid myself."

She could still remember the fear, the feeling of pure terror as she'd seen her body change, her bump grow, because she had no idea of how she could take care of a child. She'd never had real parents to teach her how to, and she was all alone in the world. But she'd managed. And, if Neal had broken her, she could tell now that Henry was the best thing that had ever happened to her. Because he had become her entire world, and she couldn't imagine her life without him.

"I felt the first contractions as I was sleeping in a little cavern, a bit outside of town. It's an old man who found me there in the morning, alerted by my cries of pain. He led me to his cabin in the woods, and helped me give birth there. He saved my life, and my son's. I wouldn't have been able to do it on my own. Without him, we would have died in the darkness of this cavern. His name was Henry. That's why I called my son that way. Because we're both alive today thanks to him. He was the first person in such a long time who had actually helped me without expecting anything in return. He offered me his home and I stayed there for a few weeks. But then he died. Just like that, he was old and one morning, he didn't wake up. I buried him, crying because I'd gotten attached to him and he'd been such an angel in my life. He didn't have any family left. I stayed in his house, not knowing what to do with a baby to raise all alone, but when I realized I'd finished his last food reserves, I've been forced to get back out there and find a job, anything to keep my son alive. I wasn't alone anymore. My two-month-old was counting on me, and I already loved him with all I had."

Killian was still listening carefully. She could see he had hundreds of questions in mind, but he was careful not to interrupt her. He was just listening and, god, it felt so good to have someone to talk to for once.

"And that's how I got here. I can still remember the exact moment, it was night. The tavern was about to close. I arrived here, drenched by the rain, Henry yelling in my arms. I begged Matt to hire me, I promised I would do anything to save my baby, anything he would ask me to do. And he accepted. He gave me a room, and a job so I could feed my son. And here we are now. Safe. I have this little boy who is my entire life and I love him more than anything. I may hate his father for letting me rot in prison, but I could never regret what happened between us. Because he gave me Henry and I wouldn't change that for a thing."

She stopped talking in a low and soft voice. She took another sip of her rum, feeling a bit strange now that she'd finished. She'd never said those things aloud before. Killian was the first person she'd opened up to. And she was surprised to notice it wasn't even painful. It seemed easy, natural. She was actually happy to have shared her story with this man.

He was looking at her, eyes shinning, looking a bit stunned. He seemed genuinely shocked by what she'd told him. Without thinking, he approached his hand from hers, and the tip of his index finger touched hers, making her shiver a little. In a low voice, he said :

"Gods, Swan, I… I'm sorry this happened to you."

"It's in the past, now." She shrugged, smiling at him. "Now I have Henry, a roof above my head, food on the table… I survived this, and I'm proud I did."

"You can be. You're so strong." He answered, making her smile widen. "Since you told me, love, I'm going to tell you about my story as well. So we're even, all right?"

She nodded, eager to know more about her new friend. And he told her. He told her about his father, who had abandoned his brother and himself to serve on a ship. He told her about entering the royal navy, and the death of his older brother, that had broken him. He talked about his life being turned upside down when he had become a pirate, then about Milah, while his eyes turned a bit darker at those painful memories. He told her about how her death had made him chase his revenge for decades. And then his years in Nerveland, and his come back in the Enchanted Forest a few months prior, that had led to their meeting.

His story touched her soul in a way she hadn't expected. They were both orphans, they had both lost countless of people. They'd lived abandons, grieves and betrayals. That was why she felt so close to him. It was so strange, to find someone who'd felt unloved and worthless, just like she once had.

"To be fair." He ended with a smile. "I've retrieved my youthful glow. Time doesn't pass in Neverland. I'm 300 years old."

"No way!" She laughed, guessing that he wanted them to talk about something else now that they'd finished with the story of their lives. "You don't look old, that's for sure."

She didn't ask any question, as he hadn't asked her anything. She didn't ask if he still wanted his revenge, what he'd planned for now and why he was in this tavern with her instead of being with his crew. She just smiled at him, enjoying his pleasant, familiar presence. And they continued to speak for hours, until the dark sky started to clear up outside.

During this all time, their hands continued to shyly touch on the used wood of the table.

* * *

After this conversation, her relationship with Killian became so much stronger. They were closer, as if they'd known each other for years. She trusted him beyond words, with everything that she had. She couldn't see him often outside of the tavern since she worked a lot, but they would always manage to have moments together, with Henry most of the time.

She would spend her breaks with the both of them. Killian would stay with her as she was closing the tavern, keeping her company. They were together as soon as they could. And, once a week, when she finished earlier, he would take Henry and her on little adventures. A trip on his ship. A walk on the beach. A diner in a restaurant.

Each time she would see him walk the door to enter the tavern, a smile would appear on her face, and she would walk to greet him. They would only touch rarely. It was only smiles, talks, laughter, and with time, she now realized they didn't have to touch to be intimate, because it was so strong between them.

And Henry loved spending time with Killian. He truly looked up to him, and she trusted the pirate so much she would let him take Henry out of the tavern for a visit on the Jolly Roger or for a lesson about sailing. She was happy, for the first time in such a long time. Her life had been turned upside down on this winter night where a drunk client had tried to attack her. She had met Killian Jones, and nothing would ever be the same.

This blind trust had been born from a very special event. After their night spent at talking in the tavern, encouraged by the alcohol, she had woken up with a knot in her stomach and the strong desire to throw up. And it wasn't only because of the rum she had drunk. She'd realized, once sober, that she should never have told him about her past. She'd never done so with anyone before, and she didn't know what had gotten into her.

He was going to run from her. These things that had happened to her, it was going to scare him and he was going to walk away. He'd been so kind the night before, because he was a nice man and hadn't wanted to hurt her, but he wouldn't come back. She'd scared him. She'd gotten attached, and she'd lost him, another person who was gone. And it was all her fault.

She'd spent the morning trying not to cry, she'd wanted to seem all right in front of her little boy. She'd started to work, eyes fill with tears and head bent in defeat. She couldn't believe she'd lost someone again. She was a failure, never able to keep someone by her side.

Then she'd heard a familiar voice calling her surname. And when she'd looked up, he was there, in front of her, smiling at her as always. She had felt her heart skipping a wonderful beat. When he'd noticed her red eyes, he'd asked what was wrong with a concerned expression. And she'd just told him everything was good. She hadn't lied. He'd come back, he hadn't abandoned her. And he wouldn't do so.

And the months went by. The snow disappeared and the trees regained their color. Spring passed, allowing the summer to settle in. Their walks became longer, their talks even happier, and they formed a true little family, the three of them. She loved those moments spent together. For the first time, she could look toward the future, confident things would be okay. Because she wasn't alone anymore. And, somehow, Killian had managed to make her understand she was a good person, and something better was awaiting for her out there.

* * *

"Oh, Mommy, you're so pretty!" Henry cried out in joy when he saw Emma walking down the stairs, finding the tavern crowded.

She smiled at his comment. It was warm outside, the summer well settled. She'd put on the dress she would wear for special occasions, probably the only one that wasn't damaged. It was light, clear blue, with a belt made out of braided ropes that stressed her waistline.

She had tied her hair into a long blond braid, what drew her looks from several clients. Ignoring them, she walked to her son to take him in her arms. She dropped a kiss to the top of his head, and he smiled, looking genuinely happy.

She'd taken a day off, as always for her son's birthday. He was turning eight, and she'd rarely seen him that excited. Killian was supposed to meet them, and had planned to take them both to a restaurant to celebrate the big day.

She knew that her son was overexcited about this little adventure. Before Killian, she'd never had the money to offer him these kind of big meals. But Hook was a pirate, and he had tons of gold. He wanted to make Emma and Henry happy, and she wasn't about to complain. She couldn't thank him enough for making her son smile like that.

"Let's go wait for Killian outside, kid." She said, and Henry nodded enthusiastically, grabbing her hand.

In the midst of summer, it was really hot without being unpleasant, a little wind shaking the leaves on the trees. The sun had begun to set in the sky, coloring the surroundings in red and orange. It was truly beautiful, and she couldn't have wished for a better day.

They'd barely set foot outside of the tavern that they noticed Killian's figure walking to them in the evening light. Henry let go of an excited cry, and ran to Emma's friend, who squatted to welcome him in his arms. The little boy wrapped his hands around his neck, laughing at the sky. She chuckled at that and joined them, her steps light and a smile on her face. She was so happy to spend the night with the two most important people in her life.

Killian got back on his feet when he heard her approaching, but his teasing smirk disappeared when he saw her. He stared at her face, eyes wide and lips parted, and she blushed a little bit. She knew that face. He was about to compliment her, and she never knew how to react to that.

"You look stunning, Swan." He finally said in a low voice.

She looked down, a bit embarrassed, but her smile widened a bit more. Killian liked to give her compliments. It was like he saw every qualities in her. She never really knew what to answer. She'd been called hot, sexy and seductive before, but never stunning or beautiful, like he would always call her. It made her feel strange, her heart pounding weirdly fast at his words.

But it also made her feel good. And she felt a bit guilty to never know what to answer back. She wasn't good with words, and she would have liked to tell him how amazing she thought he was too. But he knew that, and he would always change the subject right after his compliments, so she wouldn't feel uncomfortable. He did so once again. He turned to Henry and said, a hand resting on his shoulder :

"Shall we go, lad?"

"Yeah!" the little boy said, overexcited. "Where are we going?"

"That's a surprise." He replied, and Henry giggled. "Come with me."

The walk they took to the mysterious place happened in pure happiness. Henry talked about anything, so fast because he was so excited. He seemed like the happiest little boy on earth, to spend the day with Killian and his mom. Emma stayed a bit back, smiling slightly, so glad to see her son grinning so widely.

Henry had always been shy, a bit self-contained, without real friends of his age. Since Killian had come into their lives, he seemed so much happier and more confident. Her friend taught him how to sail, and told him about tales of ocean and ships. They spent a lot of time together, and Killian seemed to like being this paternal figure for Henry. His birth dad gone for long, he now had Killian. And they were a family.

"Wow!" Henry cried out, what made Emma come back to reality.

She looked up, surprised by her son's exclamation, and her lips parted in awe as Killian was chuckling because of their reaction. They were standing in front of  _The Treasure_ , a restaurant that was part of the bigger city. It was probably the most expensive establishment of the kind in this part of the Enchanted Forest. People were crazy about this place, and they would normally have had to wait months before making a reservation.

She would never have imagined to find herself in this position one day. A meal in this place probably cost more than she dared to think about. She couldn't believe that Killian had brought them here. She turned to him, eyes widened, as he seemed quite amused by their bewildered expressions.

"Are you insane?" She asked, what made him laugh again. "You can't bring us here, it costs a fortune!"

"I'm a pirate, love. The least I could do is to offer both of you a meal for Henry's birthday."

"But..." She tried to protest, because no one had ever done that kind of things for them before, and she didn't know how to react.

"No buts allowed." He laughed. "Come on."

Her son had already run to the entrance and was staring at the big building with bright eyes, looking absolutely awestruck. Seeing that she wasn't going to move forward, all confused that she was because of his surprise, he placed his hand on the small of her back to gently encourage her.

A shiver ran up her spine. Since the start of their friendship, they had only touched a few times, and it would always make her feel the same. Her heart would start pounding and she would shiver, somehow wanting to bury herself deeper in his embrace. But she was feeling strange, and didn't know how to react to that.

The few times they'd touched, the one who had made the first move without thinking about it, would always walk away quickly, realizing what they'd done. The conversation would switch so they wouldn't feel uncomfortable, and they would pretend that nothing had happened. Neither of them were feeling comfortable with someone touching them given their past, and the way he would make her feel was scaring her a little.

He realized what he was doing and got stiff, moving to take his hand away. Except this time, she didn't blush. She was in such a good mood, and she was suddenly feeling all right with him being close to her. She actually wanted to feel his touch. So, as he was moving to get away from her, she placed her hand on his stomach, resting her head on his shoulder so he would stay close.

She knew now that being close to him wasn't going to hurt her. He knew everything about her, and he wasn't about to let her down. She trusted him, with all that she had. He looked at her, seeming a bit surprised, and she just smiled at him to show him it was okay. He smiled back, and placed his hand on her back once again.

The diner was simply perfect. Seeing her son eat this meal she never would have imagined he could have in the near future, and being able to eat properly for once, made her feel so good. Killian made them both laugh so much it drew the attention of the next tables, but she couldn't bring herself to care. They were both teasing each other like little kids. It was playful and tender, and it seemed to make Henry so happy.

At the end of the meal, as Henry had calmed down a bit, exhausted by the late hour and the amount of food, she leaned toward Killian with a smile. Feeling more confident because of the physical touch they'd shared earlier, she placed her hand above his and felt him shiver under her touch. She whispered so Henry couldn't hear them talking :

"Thank you, Killian. I owe you one."

"No, you don't, darling." he replied, smiling back at her. "It's for the lad's birthday."

"But it's not  _my_  birthday." She said, chuckling. "You didn't have any reason to offer me something."

"Being my closest friend isn't reason enough?" He defended himself. "It was my pleasure, love. I wasn't going to let a lady, especially one as beautiful as you, watch us eat without doing anything. I may be a pirate, but I'm a gentleman, princess."

She laughed at that. She'd talked to him about how Henry thought she was the Lost Princess, and he liked to tease her about it. She would always protest, telling him not to encourage her son, but not that night. She enjoyed his presence way too much. She didn't want to get angry, even if it was only pretend.

They came home late. He got up to her room to put Henry to bed, as he'd fallen asleep in his arms during the walk back to the tavern. Once in the hall, they faced each other, feeling a bit strange. They both didn't know how to say goodbye. Their touches during the night had seemed to draw them even closer, but none of them wanted to make the other uncomfortable by trying for a hug.

He ended up smiling at her, and took her hand in his, looking at her like she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. He brought it to his lips, and pressed a little kiss on her knuckles. She grinned back, feeling a pleasant shiver in her spine, and feeling like a princess as he was treating her so gently.

"Until tomorrow, Swan." He said, keeping her hand in his for a few wonderful seconds.

"See you tomorrow, Killian." She answered, lost in the blue of his eyes.

He let go a couple of seconds later, looked at her one last time, and she watched him disappear into the staircase. She laid down on the room floor with a silly smile on her face. She could still feel the touch of his lips on her skin, and how his hand had felt while holding hers.

She slept well that night.

* * *

Then, without notice, everything crumbled.

The next day, Emma impatiently waited for Killian's arrival. She denied it back then, because she was too scared to get hurt, but her feelings for him grew a bit more with each passing day. She would have liked to spend all her time with him. She would have wanted him to join them in their room so they would never have to be apart again, and she never wanted to watch him go away, even if it was for a few hours only. She woulds have wanted the three of them to be a true family, because Killian and her son were the two most important people in her life.

Except she'd forgotten about an important detail. He was a pirate. And all of that was impossible, because he was going to leave.

He came to the tavern not long after the opening. Henry ran to him for a hug, as always, but as he was greeting her son, Emma noticed right away that something was off with her friend. He was smiling, but it didn't reach his eyes, and the blue of his gaze stayed darker than usual. He looked up at her and the sadness in his features made her want to cry.

Her chest tightened in worry. She didn't know what was happening, but she knew it was going to hurt her, a lot. Without knowing the truth, she could already feel her little world crumbling around her. Once again. And she couldn't do anything to stop what was coming.

She guessed that he didn't want to tell her anything with Henry beside them. He didn't want to hurt the little boy. So she took her break early, and approached the table they were sitting at. She offered a sad smile to Henry, and said :

"Kid, could you stay there for a little while? I need to talk with Killian about something important."

"What's going on?" The little boy asked, his eyes shinning with curiosity.

"It's grown-up stuffs." She shrugged, using the universal excuse of every parents in the world. "We're coming right back, don't you worry." She added, winking to erase his disappointed look.

"Okay." He mumbled, looking a bit annoyed.

She kissed his forehead to make him feel better, and gestured for Killian to follow her outside. They found themselves alone under the summer sun, and he immediately lost his smile, running his fingers through his dark locks and looking horribly desperate. She felt the knot in her chest becoming even tighter. She'd never seen him so sad before.

"What's wrong?" She asked in a somewhat shaky voice.

"I… I have bad news, Swan." he stated, stuttering a bit and his eyes searching for hers.

"What's happening?" She said, feeling like the ground was crumbling under her feet.

He took a deep breath before answering. He knew it was going to hurt her, and he didn't want that, she could read it in his eyes. She bit her bottom lip to stop the tears she felt in her eyes from rolling down her cheeks.

"You know that I'm a pirate. I've never stayed that long on land before. But I'm happy here, with you and Henry. And I have gold, so I didn't think it would matter. But my first mate came to see me yesterday night, right after I left, and… We have nothing left. We spent all the gold. The crew wants to go back on the ship, and Smee told me what they plan on doing if I don't come back quickly. They're going to take the Jolly Roger and disappear. I have to go with them."

Emma had to lean against the wall in order not to fall over. Her legs were shaking beneath her, and couldn't bear her weight anymore. She felt so stupid. She should have expected it to happen. She hated herself for not thinking about that earlier. She'd gotten attached, despite the promises she'd made to herself. And now he was leaving. It was meant to happen sooner than later, but he was abandoning them.

For a horrible second, she felt a huge rage taking its place in her guts. So, his ship was more important than them in his eyes ? But she calmed down right away. She knew his story. The Jolly Roger was his home, the last memory he had of his lost brother. She got that it was important to him, and that he couldn't lose the ship. And he had to find gold. She didn't even have the strength to be mad at him. Her heart was pounding so painfully in her chest at the idea he was going to leave, and she didn't know when or if she would see him again.

"You… You're leaving?" She finally said in a muffled voice.

"Not forever." he answered, looking so appalled by these news. "Believe me, I do not wish to go. I would rather stay here with you and Henry, but..."

"You can't lose the Jolly, it's your home. I know." She nodded, trying to stop her tears from falling because crying wouldn't solve a thing. "When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow, before dawn." He said, and she had to swallow to hold back her sob.

"So soon?"

"I'll come back. As soon as I can. I'm so sorry, Swan. But I'm not leaving you. I promise. I would never do something like that."

"I know." She replied, trying to reassure him, because despite her own sadness seeing him in such distress was unbearable. "You don't have a choice."

He looked taken aback by her answer. "You're not mad at me?"

"How could I?" She said, sniffing. "Even if I was, it wouldn't change a thing. It wouldn't change your mind. I should as well enjoy your presence while I still can."

He had a small smile that didn't reach his eyes. He seemed as overwhelmed as she was, even if, just like her, he didn't want to show it. He was honestly sad to leave her. She stared at him for a few seconds, as if to etch his features in her memory. And then she asked in a low voice :

"I assume you didn't say anything to Henry?"

"I didn't. I wanted you to be the first to know. And I think we should tell him together."

"How are we going to tell him that you're going away?" She sighed, knowing all too well that her son was going to be shattered, since he loved Killian so much. "He does consider you as a father to him, you know?"

"And I consider him as my own son." He answered, what made her want to smile and cry at the same time. "You're both my family."

A single tear rolled down her cheek. He looked at her, and for an insane second, she thought he was going to kiss her. But instead, he took her hand and squeezed it, as if to show her just how much her cared.

* * *

"No!" Henry shouted, starting to cry. "You can't leave!"

"He doesn't have a choice, kid." She said in a shaky voice.

She tried to reach for him and take him in her arms, so sad to see her son's reaction. But he pushed her away, almost violently, and wrapped his arms around Killian, sobbing. She bit her lip to try not to start crying as well. Her son had never pushed her away before, and that meant he was hurt, badly. Killian gave her a worried look from behind Henry's shoulder, gently stroking his back to comfort him.

"I am truly sorry, lad. I promise I'll do everything I can to come back to you as soon as possible."

"But you can't leave us!" Her little boy sobbed against her best friend's shoulder. "Please!"

"I don't wish to go either, Henry. Believe me." He answered, his voice muffled as if he were about to cry as well.

Emma didn't know what to do to calm her son down. After a little while, he ended up pulling away from Killian to bury himself in her embrace, searching for his mother's familiar touch and comforting words. She whispered nonsense to his ear while hugging him tightly, until he'd finally stopped crying. Exhausted by all of these tears, he ended up falling asleep against her chest, his cheeks wet and his eyes red.

She gently laid him back down on the bed so he wouldn't wake up, then she got up. She didn't know what to do. She wanted to cry, but she didn't want to do so in front of Killian. He would only feel worse. He was looking at her, blue eyes shinning in worry as she was standing in the middle of the room, not knowing what to do with herself. She felt as if something had broken inside of her.

She ended up leaning against the wall, and sitting down on the ground. Curled up on the floor, knees to her chest, she tried to stay calm. Killian kept quiet for a few minutes, then approached her and asked in a whisper, wondering if she wanted to be alone :

"Do you want me to go?"

"Don't you dare leave this room." She said in a low, broken voice.

He nodded and sat down next to her. Their shoulders touching, they didn't say a word. They were both feeling too much to put words on the moment. They just watched Henry sleeping, their jerky breaths ringing into the room. She couldn't believe their friendship was over, gone. Sure, he'd promised he would come back, but she wasn't so sure of it. Not that he was lying, of course, he would never do that. But he was a pirate, and he couldn't live that life, he had to go.

He was going to leave them. This man who had brightened every minute of her life for six months was going away. And she was changed, deeply. Slowly, he'd managed to break the walls she'd put around her heart to protect herself, and she hadn't even realized what it meant. He'd come too close, and he could hurt her. That was what he was doing by leaving. Not on purpose, sure, but she was suffering.

And yet, she couldn't regret opening up to him. She was aching, so much, but the few months they'd spent together had been the best of her entire life. She'd felt enough for a little while. And she wouldn't have traded that feeling for the world.

After a long while, hours maybe, she couldn't tell, her tears got stronger than her will to stay calm. She started crying in silence, tears rolling down her cheeks and wetting her lips. In the dark, she didn't know if Killian could hear her sobs. But it had to be the case, because he wrapped his arm around her waist and guided her to his chest. She rested her head on his shoulder, burying herself into his embrace. He placed a kiss on her temple and whispered :

"You're the most amazing woman I've ever met."

She had so much to say that she didn't say a thing. She just buried her face into the crook of his neck, breathing in his comforting smell. Leather and the salt of the sea. And, somehow, she managed to fall asleep in his arms as he was still holding her close, unable to let her go.

* * *

"Swan… Wake up, darling. It's time." Killian whispered to her ear, gently stroking her shoulder.

She opened her eyes, feeling dizzy and sick, and she needed a little while to remember what was happening. It was still dark outside, but she knew that Killian had waited as long as he could before waking her up. She would have wanted to stay asleep in his arms forever. Never get out of this wonderful sleep. Keep him by her side, always. But he had to go, and there was nothing she could do about it.

So she accepted their fate. She nodded, meeting his eyes shinning with unshed tears. The blue shadows under them told the tale of a restless night, spent at watching her sleep. They gently woke Henry up, knowing he wanted to say goodbye to this man he loved like a dad.

And then, they went to walk Killian to his ship. They wanted to spend the bit of time they had left together, even if it was only for a few minutes. Emma felt numb, empty. She wanted to cry, but stayed strong for her son. Her heart was beating painfully against her ribs. She didn't want to let him go, and yet she knew she had no choice.

They walked in silence, all lost in their world of sadness. The landscape had lost its color, and everything seemed gray around them. Henry was grabbing Killian's hand, as if to tell him not to go, and silent tears were rolling down his cheeks. Emma walked beside them with the feeling that what she was living wasn't real. She wished to wake up from this nightmare, but knew it wasn't possible. She was feeling like a part of her was disappearing with Killian.

He stopped a bit before entering the harbor, and turned back to them with a sigh of pure sadness. She guessed he didn't want them to see him with his crew. He didn't want them to see the feared, cruel captain, but to keep the memory of the gentle and caring man he truly was. Emma and Henry, and his life as a pirate were incompatible. He didn't want to ruin everything they shared by mixing these parts of his life, and she understood.

He squatted first to hug Henry. Her son started to sob again and the embrace lasted for a very long time. The bound they were sharing was so strong, and it was shattering a little at this exact moment. She knew how sad her son was, and she was feeling awful, seeing the both of them so desperate.

When he finally got back up, he turned to her and took her hand. Their fingers interlaced naturally, as if they'd always been destined to be linked together. They stared at each other's face for a long while under the sky that was starting to clear up, trying to etch the other's features in their memory.

He pressed her fingers between his, then, with a sigh, he let her go. He took something from his neck, and she frowned, confused and her mind blurred because of what was happening. She ended up realizing he was holding a ring, hanging on a necklace. Gently, he placed the chain around her own neck and said :

"This ring belonged to a much better man than I am. My brother. It never leaves me, but I want you to have it. It's a reminder that I'm not leaving you. I'm coming back, I promise."

She had a small, sad smile at his gesture. He knew her story, and wanted to make sure she knew he wasn't abandoning them and would come back as soon as possible. She thought this day wasn't about to come, and she didn't know if she would ever see this man again, but the gesture touched her soul. He really did care.

She squeezed the ring between her fingers during a few seconds, thinking about what to do next. Then she moved, and slowly took away the bootlace Judy had given her all those years ago before dying, and that she'd never taken off since. She felt like giving this to him was the right thing to do.

A little part of her was disappearing with him. And a little part of him was staying with her.

She tied the lace around his wrist and he stared at it for a second. When he looked up, and seemed about to start crying. He blinked, and said in a voice so muffled it made her heart ache :

"There's not a day that will go by that I won't think of you."

"Good" She simply whispered, swallowing the lump in her throat.

Then, without notice, he took a step forward and took her in his arms. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his neck as his fingers were gently tickling her spine. They stayed for a very long time in that position, and when he pulled away, leaving his arms wrapped one more second around her body, she felt like she was going to cry for good. In a broken voice, he said :

"Take care of yourself, Emma."

In the six months they knew each other, it was the first time he called her by her first name. She liked how it sounded in his mouth. It resembled a song, a poem. She suddenly wanted to grab his arm and beg.  _Please don't go!_  But she knew he didn't have a choice, and it would only make things harder.

He looked at her for a while, and she did the same, trying to remember every little details about him. His eyes as blue as the ocean, always so comforting. The necklace he wore around his neck. The scar he had on the right cheek. His gentle, soothing voice.

He approached her once more and cupped her cheek with his large hand to press a kiss on her forehead. This soft gesture made her shiver, and she held his wrist for a second, just to feel him close one more time. Then, he pulled away and placed his hand on Henry's shoulder. And just like that, he was gone. Because they all knew that if they waited any longer, he would never go. And he had to.

She stared at the emptiness he'd left behind him for a second, then squatted to hug her sobbing son and comfort him. She didn't even realize she was crying as well.

* * *

**Nowadays**

Henry had fallen asleep long ago. Emma watched him breathe peacefully with a smile. Her son looked so happy. She tucked him in to make sure he wouldn't get cold. Killian pressed a kiss on the little boy's forehead, and they shared a glance, smirking at each other. Then he took her hand and led her to the captain's quarter.

On the little bed they shared, they made love, slowly and gently. She felt loved and beautiful and wanted, and the way he looked at her always made her heart beat faster. His face in her neck to stifle his sighs, her nails dinging in the skin of his back as she was finding herself on the edge. They both fell in the depth of their orgasm at the same time, and he collapsed above her.

They stayed against one another for a long time, naked bodies so close she couldn't tell where he was beginning and where she was ending anymore. They both took the time to catch their breath, enjoying that wonderful night. Then he kissed her collarbone and she snuggled against his chest. She offered in a whisper :

"Do you want me to go on?"

"Always, love. You know this is my favorite story."

She smiled and he kissed her forehead to encourage her. And she started her tale back where it had ended.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Thanks once again for your support, your comments, your kudos, or for simply reading. You guys are the best!   
> I also wanted to say that I've published once a week until now, but my finals are coming up, so the updates will probably be further apart for a little while. I hope you'll like this chapter!

Emma was crying, but managed to hide her tears from her son until he was in his bed. She didn't want him to see her in such distress. He was already suffering way too much. He was sobbing, shaking, and she carried him all the way back to the tavern, his face buried in her neck and his arms wrapped around her, tightly, as if he were trying to make sure she wasn't going to disappear as well.

She did her best to stay calm, and kept on crying silently. She had to stay strong for her little boy. She just kept on stroking his back, not complaining once about her back aching from having to carry him for so long. She placed him in his bed, and stayed by his side until he'd calmed down.

He needed a long time to fall back asleep, and after what seemed like hours, she ended up laying back down on the floor of her room. The sky had cleared up again, which meant that she would have to get to work quite quickly. She didn't know how she would be able to pretend that everything was all right.

Curled up on the floor, she finally allowed herself to sob. He was gone. She couldn't believe she wouldn't see his smile, hear his laughter, wait for his arrival or pretend to be mad when he teased her again. She hated herself for not enjoying his presence while she still could, for not allowing any physical contact between them, because it'd deprived her of his strong and comforting embrace. She felt loved against him, safe, more than ever, and she was already missing him so much.

"Mommy?"

She startled, surprised. She was sure her son was asleep, and hearing him call her in this fragile voice broke her heart in half. She quickly wiped away her tears, and took a second to answer, wanting her voice to seem steady and assured.

"What's wrong, kid?"

"Can you come please? I can't sleep." He asked, sniffing.

She sighed, looking up at the ceiling to stop herself from crying again. Hearing her baby boy being so sad was unbearable. She got up and went to lay down next to her son. He immediately buried his face in her hair, and she stroked his back, trying to comfort him. As he was holding her close, he said in a broken voice.

"I miss Killian."

"I know, baby." She said, her voice thick with sobs. "I miss him too."

She didn't fall back asleep before going to work. But after a while, they both stopped crying, not having any tears left to shed.

* * *

"Why the hell is it so hot?" Emma grumbled to herself, wiping off the drop of sweat rolling down the side of her face.

The bucket she was trying to rise from the bottom of the well seemed to weigh a tonne in her hands. She didn't have any difficulty doing this task every day, yet the heatwave that was hitting the Enchanted Forest was making her life a living hell. She forced herself to ignore the painful burn the rope was leaving on her fingers, and ended up finally reaching the bucket. She sighed while grabbing it, wincing at the heat of the handle, and started to walk toward the tavern.

It was late, but it was still incredibly hot and it was making every little task almost impossible to accomplish. Her hair was sticking to the back of her neck, and she limped in the darkness. The tavern was closing, and she was the last one there, once again. Her everyday life. This life that seemed so empty without Killian by her side.

He was gone for a bit over two weeks, and Henry was still inconsolable. She wasn't feeling that good either, she had to admit it. She couldn't bring herself to eat anything anymore. Killian's absence was weighing on her stomach, and she got nauseous each time she tried to eat something. And it was without talking about her nights. She was barely sleeping, exhausting herself. Every time she would close her eyes, Killian's memory was coming back to life and making her want to cry.

His deep voice, his bright smile, his beautiful eyes, the touch of his hand against hers. She'd lost countless of people in her life, but she could never get used to this feeling of emptiness. It was so hard. Especially because seeing Henry so sad was horribly painful. He'd finally found a father, and this man was gone too. They would always leave.

He would fall asleep crying at night, and it was breaking her heart over and over again. She was feeling like Killian had left a huge hole in their lives, and they weren't able to cover it. She was feeling helpless. And she was missing him like crazy.

She brushed her long blonde hair behind her shoulder, walking so slowly and tripping on invisible obstacles. She was too hot, and was feeling weak. Maybe because of the lack of food or sleep, or maybe because Killian's absence was too much to bear. She was feeling like this hell would never stop. And it was horrifying.

She finally arrived to the tavern after what seemed like hours. Se looked up and suddenly slowed down and frowned, seeing a dark figure leaning against the closest wall. Arms folded, she could see it was a man, but was too far to see his face.

Her breath got stuck in her throat for a second. The memory of Jerry's attack would come back to her sometimes, and she felt a danger. She placed her hand against the dagger she was wearing on her belt since this accident. She didn't want someone to find her lifeless body in the middle of the forest the next morning, and Henry to grow up without a mother.

She silently approached the tavern, ready for a fight. The figure wasn't moving, standing completely still. She could see that the man was wearing a long coat that seemed to be made out of leather, and it made her shiver. This detail reminded her of Killian. She still wasn't close enough to see the stranger's face, but he started to talk and she startled :

"Missed me?"

The question didn't sound threatening at all. On the contrary, it was warm and playful. And this voice… She knew this deep, soothing tone. Her eyes almost unconsciously searched for the man's left hand, trying to make sense of what was happening. And instead of a palm, her gaze met a hook.

She blinked. It was impossible. She was dreaming, or the heat had reached her troubled mind. It couldn't be true. She'd gone insane because of the exhaustion, and was in the middle of a cruel hallucination.

But the stranger suddenly stood up to pull away from the wall. He walked to her, and she could finally see his smile. His face got out of the darkness, and she was able to look at him.

It was him. It was Killian. He was gently smiling at her, his beautiful baby blues staring at her face, and she let go of a gasp of pure surprise, not getting what was happening.

Killian Jones was back. She didn't know how, she didn't know why, but on that moment, she didn't care. He was there, facing her, and her heart skipped a beat while the world disappeared around them.

Without thinking, she let go of the bucket, which crashed on the floor, and threw herself in his arms, enjoying this embrace she'd missed so much. He laughed under the impact, almost losing his balance, but he held her close against him and buried his face in her hair to breathe her in. She herself took in his familiar smell, without really realizing what was going on. She was feeling a bit lost, and her heart was pounding so fast in her chest she was sure it could be heard into the entire forest.

It's only when his hand got up from her back to run through her hair that she realized she was actually crying. She held him for a long, long time, as if he were about to disappear again. Dozens of questions were running through her mind, and she didn't know where to begin with. Finally, she pulled away just a little bit to look at him, leaving her arms wrapped around him, and asked :

"What… How…?"

"It's a long story." He answered with a soft smile that made her heart grew about twice its size. She could see that he was as happy as she was to find her again. His eyes were shinning strangely, as if he were about to start crying with her. "I'm going to tell you everything, just… Let me look at you."

She laughed between her tears, and he took her hand in his, staring at her. She took a step back with a smile, but kept her grip on his fingers to make sure he was staying close. He was carefully studying her, and an inch of worry crossed his beautiful gaze. She wanted to ask him what was wrong, but the lump in her throat seemed too thick, and he finally started to talk again :

"Gods, you're even more beautiful than I remember." He said, making her blush. "But you seem exhausted. Is everything all right?"

"I'm fine." She said in a whisper, waving her free hand in the air to erase his concern. "These past couple of weeks have been quite difficult, that's all."

"Is there something wrong?" He got worried. "Is Henry okay?"

"He's all right, don't worry. He's missing you. We both missed you so much."

"I could tell you the same thing." He whispered, pulling her to him for another hug.

She closed her eyes to enjoy his embrace. She couldn't believe that he was there, against her. They stayed for a long time holding each other in the dark, her face in the crook of his neck, his hand in her hair. Her world had shrunk to the two of them, snuggled in this embrace they'd missed so much.

After a while, he ended up pulling away from her, but kept her hand in his, fingers interlaced naturally. Showing the bucket of water on the ground behind her, he offered :

"Do you want me to go to the well so I can bring water? It's my fault if you let it fall in the first place."

"That's okay. It's no big deal." She answered with a chuckle, because this moment was reminding her of their first conversation, all those months ago.

Except this time, she trusted him, and she didn't want him to go for a completely different reason. She really didn't want to see him walk away again, even if she knew he would come back this time. She just wished she could have brought him to her room to fall asleep in his arms. Being apart from him was way too hard, she was realizing it even more now that he was beside her again. He smiled at her answer and said :

"I'll have to insist, love. But come with me. I'm going to tell you why I'm here."

She nodded, knowing he wasn't going to take no for an answer, because he was always such a gentleman. She knew him so well, now, as he knew her by heart. She leaned to grab the bucket on the floor, her left hand still holding his. There were a few seconds of silence before he started to talk again, both a bit stunned to find themselves next to each other again. She immediately frowned when she realized his voice was a bit deeper than usual :

"I had a problem with the Jolly Roger."

She knew he was lying in the span of a second. This skill she had since she was a little girl, what Henry liked to call her super-power, it always worked. But for some reason, she didn't get mad. She could tell he was doing it for a good cause, and not out of selfishness. She didn't even try to make him tell the truth. She was too happy to have him by her side. She pretended to be surprised, opening her eyes wide :

"Is it bad?" She asked, to pretend she was believing him.

"We don't know yet, but she's unable to go back at sea for now." He answered, not meeting her eyes, and she had to hold back a smile because he definitely was a very bad liar.

"You're staying for a while, then?" She said, squeezing his fingers between hers as if to convince him to stay by her side and never go away again.

"I am." He nodded with a smile, and she grinned back, deeply happy.

"Wait a minute." She said, frowning and losing her smirk. "Didn't you have to go because you don't have any money left? How are you gonna manage, now?"

"I'll figure it out." He shrugged, but she could see at the stiffness of his neck that he was deeply worried. "I'll find another job. And meanwhile..."

"Meanwhile, I'll help you." She cut him off.

"Swan!" He cried out, looking completely taken aback. "Are you joking, love? You're working day and night. I'm not going to ask you to pay for me, never..."

"You've helped me for so long, Killian. It's my turn, now. I insist. It's what friends are for, right?"

He seemed about to protest again, but she raised her eyebrows to show him she wouldn't accept a refusal. He seemed to think about her offer, and finally shrugged, not giving her a real acceptance, but showing that he was letting go. She laughed at that, and they kept on walking, finally arriving to the well. She was so happy even the heatwave and her exhaustion couldn't reach her anymore.

"And how are you, darling?" He asked as they were watching the bucket slowly filling in with water.

"I'm okay, I guess." She smiled, so close to him their shoulders were touching, because she didn't want to pull away now that they were together again. "Henry too. He's going to be so happy to see you."

Killian seemed so glad to hear those words, she knew how he considered Henry as a son, and that made her want to cry in joy. She was so happy to have met this wonderful man. They kept on talking until arriving to the tavern. She made him enter, and closed the door behind her, not able to stop smiling as she was imagining her little boy's face when he would see Killian.

She led her friend to her room in silence, and he sat on the edge of Henry's bed as she was kneeling on the floor. The little boy was peacefully sleeping, breath even and eyes closed. She gently stroked his shoulder to wake him up, saying :

"Kid, can you hear me?"

"Mmm" He groaned without opening his eyes. "Is it morning, already?"

"No, but there's a surprise for you." She answered with laughter in her voice.

He opened his eyes at the words, seeming suddenly completely awake and looking at her, intrigued. She turned her head to smile at her friend, who was looking absolutely tenderized by the scene he was witnessing. Henry got the clue and followed her lead, finally seeing Killian next to them.

He didn't react right away, blinking in surprise. He rubbed his eyes, as if to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Then, a huge smile appeared on his face, and he sat down to threw himself into Killian's arms, laughing. Her friend chuckled because of the gesture, and tightly hugged Henry back.

"You came back!" Her son said, looking like the happiest little boy on earth.

They kept on hugging for a long while, as Henry didn't want to let Killian go. It brought tears to her eyes, to see the two most important people in her life so close. When he finally decided to pull away, he lost his grin, staring at Killian with a maturity that made both adults blink in surprise.

"You're going to leave again, aren't you?"

She felt her heart tightening in her chest, seeing her son's saddened expression. He thought that this visit was temporary, and that Killian was going to break both their hearts once again. He was only eight, he was still so young, but he was already so mature and perceptive. Killian tried to smile at him, but she could see Henry's words had touched him deeply.

"I don't know, lad." He answered honestly. "But I won't leave for a couple of months. I'm staying here with you. I promise."

Henry smiled at this answer, looking satisfied, and snuggled back against Killian for a long while, as her friend was telling him the tales of all the adventures they could go to, the three of them, while he was there. Emma's son ended up falling back asleep, and she gently laid him back down on the bed, careful not to wake him up. She was so happy to see him smile again, she felt like she could start bouncing up and down in joy.

She turned back to Killian, and a strange silence settled between them. Him sitting on the bed, her still on the floor, they were staring at each other, and she didn't know what to say anymore. She knew he had to get out of this room, but she didn't want to see him go. Now that he was there, she didn't want to leave him ever again. She felt almost sick at the idea of him being far away. He was the one who started to talk, his hand scratching the back of his ear.

"I suppose… I Should go, maybe?"

It was dark in the room, but she could see him blushing at his own awkwardness. It made her heart do strange things again, to see him so shy around her. She held back a smile, and answered honestly, all fears gone because of her happiness.

"I don't want you to go."

"Me neither." He admitted with a small smile.

"You can stay." She said with a shrug, but she knew she'd turned bright red. "I have, hum… Spare blankets, if you want to."

He smiled, a smile brighter than the sun that made her want to hug him again. "It's very sweet of you, Swan. If I'm no bother, I'll stay."

"It's not completely selfless" She admitted with half a smile. "I'd do anything to keep you here right now. I don't want to lose you right after finding you again."

He smiled, and suddenly moved to sit on the ground next to her and take her in his arms. They stayed there for a long time, just enjoying the comforting, tender embrace. When they pulled away, she gave him a blanket, and they both laid down on the floor, so close to each other she could see his features in the dark.

Both laying on their side to face each other, they continued to talk in a whisper for hours, trying not to wake Henry up. She had to place a hand against her mouth several times as he was making her laugh, and she felt so complete now that he was with her. They talked as if to catch up on the time they'd wasted not being together, convincing themselves nothing could ever bring them apart again.

And she ended up falling asleep, her head resting on his chest, his arm wrapped around her and their legs tangled beneath the blankets.

* * *

Life seemed to start all over again, as if it'd stopped while they were apart. Things were a bit different, though. Killian couldn't stay all day at the tavern anymore, because he didn't have any gold left to pay for his drinks. He was taking small jobs to try and survive, but always took the time to come at night to talk a bit with her and Henry.

He would tell her son stories about his adventures until he'd fallen asleep, and then Emma and him would both talk for hours without ever running out of subjects. Before leaving for the Jolly Roger, where he was still sleeping even though he'd told her the ship couldn't go back at sea, he would always take a few minutes to say goodbye. A kiss on the forehead or on her knuckles, that would make her melt on the spot.

"Good night, Swan. See you tomorrow." He would say with that small smirk that made her heart pound faster.

When he wasn't working, he would take Henry to show him places of the Enchanted Forest or take him on his ship, since the little boy loved the Jolly Roger. Her son would come home from these trips with a huge smile on his face and dozens things to tell her, and it made her so happy. She felt like she could never thank Killian enough for making her son smile so widely.

Her wage was now used to feed three people, sometimes. Killian and Emma would let Henry eat first, and when they were sure he wasn't hungry anymore, they would share the leftovers. Killian wasn't that fond of this plan. He was feeling guilty for making her friend pay for his food, and would invite both Henry and Emma for a meal in town, when he'd earned a bit of money. They were functioning like a real family without even realizing it, sharing their money that way.

And he took such good care of her. Even though they were both poor now, he would always make sure she wasn't starving, wasn't too hot or too cold, was sleeping correctly. He would look at her with pure adoration in her eyes, making butterflies appear in the pit of her stomach. Emma was feeling good. She didn't even realize that she wasn't supposed to feel so dizzy and complete when her  _friend_  kissed her forehead or wrapped his arm around her waist.

But they were so deeply happy.

She even managed to forget that he was supposed to go away again some day.

* * *

Emma was nimbly moving between the tables of the tavern. She was in such a good mood, that day. The weather was finally more bearable, and the heatwave that had made her suffer so much was definitely over. The sun was slowly setting in the sky, and she quickly glanced at the window to make sure that Henry was okay.

Her son was reading, leaning against the trunk of a tree, and Killian was working next to the little boy. He'd managed to get a job that day, and was busy slicing pieces of wood, being incredibly good at it for a man who only had one hand. He was back for two weeks, and she was happier than ever. Biting her bottom lip, she kept on staring at him for a few seconds, somehow distracted by the muscles she could see playing under his black shirt, his leather coat folded on the ground next to him.

Feeling watched, he looked up and smiled at her, making her heart skip a beat. It wasn't unusual to see that kind of things happen between them. They seemed so connected that when one of them was watching, the other would feel it instantly. She waved at him, blushing a little, and he answered with a playful wink. Henry, too busy reading the book she'd offered him with the dozen of extra-hours she'd done lately, didn't look up, blissfully unaware of what was happening around him.

"Swan, what the hell are you doing ?" Calvin got mad as she'd stopped for barely a minute.

"I'm enjoying this beautiful day, Calvin." She shrugged, not feeling upset at all. "You should try one of these days. Maybe it would relax you. I heard it's perfect when you're a bit cranky."

Without waiting for an answer, she made her way to the kitchen, leaving a stunned Calvin, lips parted and eyes wide, behind her. She wasn't as impressed by the little bastard as she'd once been. She refused to let him reach her anymore. His comments would now slide on her without getting to her head, and since Killian had come back, she even allowed herself to tease him a bit as a revenge.

His lack of replies told her that, if he had a big mouth, he didn't have a mind as sharp as he would have wanted her to think. She was feeling good now that she was freed from this constant anger she'd once had toward him. And leaving him speechless amused her a lot.

She kept on working, offering smiles and nice comments to the clients and ignoring the exhaustion that was slowly taking place in her limbs. The night was settling, the sky getting darker and the birds quieter. As she was about to take her break to go eat with Killian and Henry, a cry coming from the outside of the tavern made her startle :

"Swan!"

Killian's voice seemed worried, almost panicked, and her heart sank in her chest. She didn't wait any longer to rush outside, placing the tray she was carrying in a table under the questioning gaze of the men sitting there. She knew at the tone her friend had used that something was very wrong. She had to make sure her boys were all right.

Her heart was beating so fast she could hear it in her own ears. Arriving under the dark sky, she found Killian kneeling on the floor, a few feet from her. He looked up at her with concerned eyes, and her breath got stuck in her throat for a horrible second. He was holding a sobbing Henry in his arms, and thousands of terrible ideas suddenly ran through her mind as she had no clue of what was happening.

He could be hurt, badly, and she had to make sure it wasn't the case. She ran to them and threw herself on her knees without paying attention to the pain going up her leg as it was hitting the ground. Henry immediately turned to her when he felt her presence, and she held him close to her heart, feeling her eyes filling with tears because seeing him in such distress was unbearable.

"Calm down, baby, it's okay..." She whispered to her little boy's ear without even knowing what was going on. At least he didn't seem physically hurt, she noted. "What's wrong?" She then asked, looking up at Killian as he was gently rubbing Henry's back, looking absolutely distraught.

"I walked away for a minute to go bring the wood to my boss and get the gold I earned. When I came back, other children were attacking the lad." He explained, looking so sorry. "I made them go away, but they've had the time to ruin the book." He added, showing the remains of the object scattered on the floor. "I'm so sorry I couldn't be there sooner, to stop them from doing any harm..."

"Oh my god." She said, biting her bottom lip to try and avoid crying, feeling so guilty for not having heard anything and for having let this happen. God knows what could have happened with these damn bullies if Killian hadn't come right on time. "Don't apologize, Killian." She added, noting his eyes shinning with unshed tears. "You were just doing your job."

Henry's sobs had become even stronger in her neck as he'd heard Killian tell the story of what had happened. She tried to console him, rocking him against her chest, doing her best not to cry as well. This was breaking her heart, and she knew they didn't know the entire story yet. Henry wouldn't have been that sad if the book had been the only thing that had been ruined. When he finally calmed down a bit, she asked kindly, trying to understand :

"What have they done to you, kid?"

"They told me I was nothing." He sniffed, panting a little, and she ran her fingers through his hair in a sweet gesture. "They told me I'll never have any friends because I'm weird and boring, and that no one will ever love me. And then they took my book and they made fun of me while ruining it, because they said that… That I could never have others anyway because you don't have any money."

And he started to sob again as she was holding him even tighter against her. The words these kids had told her son were upsetting her beyond words. It was horribly mean, of course, but that wasn't it. She also knew that, on the last part, they were right. She would never be able to give him another book for a long, long time. She'd worked her ass off to offer him this little gift. They had no savings at all, and she would have liked to prove these little assholes wrong, but it wasn't possible. She was the one who was nothing, she thought. She couldn't even offer her own son a damn book.

Killian guessed how bad she felt, because he moved his hand and placed it on the small of her back. They stayed knelt on the dust for another few minutes, before finally managing to calm Henry down. He pulled away from her, and she gently wiped his tears off, kissing the crown of his head. Killian smiled at him for reassurance, and she turned her face away to hide the tears in her eyes. Her little boy didn't need to see her cry in addition to what he'd just gone through.

Her friend took care of everything. He lifted her son up in his arms, and gently led him to their room as she was following them, chest tight and eyes wet. She didn't even hear Calvin yelling that, since she'd left the tray in the middle of the tavern and since it was unacceptable, she would have to wipe the floor clean again before going to bed, to make up for her mistake.

Killian laid Henry down in his bed as she was leaning against the opposite wall. With a comforting smile, her friend started to tell her son stories about the ocean and treasure hunts in mysterious islands. He even managed to make him chuckle twice. Then, when the little boy had finally fallen asleep, he gestured for her to come in the hallway with him, and she followed him, closing the door behind her back.

As soon as they found themselves alone in the dim light of the hall, her last barriers gave up and she started to cry. She was feeling so bad. These kids had hurt her son because he wasn't like the other kids of his age, he liked to read and they thought it was wrong while it was making her little boy so happy. In addition to that, she couldn't even prove them wrong about the fact she didn't have any gold.

She knew that most of these comments the other kids had made were because she was a single mom, working her life away, who had, on top of everything, once been a thief. She would not be able to replace the damn book for a few weeks, and it was making her crazy. It was the only thing that would have consoled Henry.

Killian didn't wait any longer to take her in the comfort of his strong arms. With so much softness her heart did a strange thing, he kissed her hair and didn't ask her one thing. He knew what she was feeling without her having to say anything. He knew her so well. She ended up starting to talk anyway, her words interrupted by long sobs.

"It's all my fault… They… These kids… They told these things to Henry because I don't have any money."

"Oh, Emma, don't say that." He answered gently, still rocking her against his chest as she was holding onto his coat for dear life. "It's not your fault."

"I know I'm not good at anything." She kept on panting. "I just want him to be happy, but I can't even repay him another book..."

"Shh, darling. We're going to find a solution, I promise. But please, do not say those things about yourself. You're brave. You're beautiful. You're smart, strong, amazing. You raised the lad all by yourself while you were still just a child. Everything you do, you do it for him. You're the most wonderful woman I know, and you're the best mother in all the realms."

His words managed to comfort her, as only his voice could soothe her in this moment. He kept on holding her until she'd calmed down, then kissed her forehead when she'd finally stopped crying, promising her once again that everything would be okay.

She got back to work a few minutes later as he was sitting in a corner of the tavern, ordering the less expensive drink and sipping it slowly to stay with her for the entire night and make sure she was all right. The feeling of his gaze in her back was the only thing that kept her up for all these hours, while she had to pretend that everything was okay. Deep down, she just wanted to snuggle in his arms again to shed all these tears she was keeping in her chest.

* * *

She woke up the next morning, heart heavy and eyes painful from all the tears she'd shed. But she was feeling a bit better than the night before. Killian had stayed with her after the tavern had closed, to make sure she was all right. Calvin's threats had been all too real, and she'd had to clean the floor, but he'd helped her, even if she'd tried to convince him not to. He just didn't want to leave her alone while she was that sad.

She didn't cry often, and he knew that if her tears were so strong, it was because the situation was incredibly painful. He'd come with her to her room, and he'd stroked her hair, whispering comforting words to her ear until she'd fallen asleep. When she'd woken up in the middle of the night, the print of his lips was still etched on her forehead, but he wasn't there anymore. She didn't worry. She knew he would come back. He always did.

Henry was still looking quite upset because of what had happened the day before. She forced herself to smile all morning in order not to show him that she was hurt as well. He needed her to be strong. He clung to her as she was making the tavern ready to greet the clients. Luckily, Matt was the only one in the  _Howling Wolf_  that day, and he greeted Henry with a kind wink. She often wondered how an honest, nice man such as Matt could have raised an asshole like Calvin. The mystery would always stay unresolved in her mind.

As soon as Killian arrived to the tavern, Henry ran to him, and her friend lifted him up from the ground. He took the time to come and greet her with a tight hug, gaze silently asking her if she was all right. She just smiled and nodded, and he cupped her cheek for a second to show his support. She felt about to melt on the spot. As he was about to take her son for a walk, he said to them both with a mysterious smile :

"Lad, I have a surprise for you. But you'll have to wait for your mum to take her break before knowing what it is, all right?"

"Oh, really?" Henry asked with eyes shinning in excitement, looking so cheerful all of the sudden.

"What kind of surprise?" Emma asked, a small smile on her lips at how happy Henry suddenly looked.

"You'll see." Killian answered with a playful wink.

And on that note, he left the tavern, a still babbling Henry in his arms asking him questions about this upcoming surprise. It's only minutes later that she realized she was grinning for real now, a silly smile that had come at Killian's words and gestures. This man definitely always managed to make her happy, even when she was at her worst.

It's only much later that she was able to take a well-deserved break. She was indeed trying to work as much as she physically could, so she could pay another book to her son, just wanting to make him happy. Matt almost had to force her to stop working. Her legs were hurting and her eyes were painful because of her exhaustion.

"Don't exhaust yourself, Emma. Take a break. Really. I insist." He said with a concerned frown.

She thanked him with a grateful smile, and finally got out, barely standing on her feet because of how tired she was. The sun was setting in the sky, giving the landscape a pretty orange color. She hadn't even realized she'd worked that long. She hadn't even had lunch.

Killian was sitting under a tree with Henry. They were both talking with big smiles, and her son finally seemed more like himself. When the little boy saw her approaching, he got on his feet to run toward her. Killian's face illuminated completely at her sight, as he was standing up more slowly.

"We missed you, mommy!"

"I missed you too, kid." She answered with a tired smile, running her fingers through his hair.

"Can I have my surprise now?" Henry then asked, looking up at Killian with a hopeful smile as he was standing next to them.

"So, that's why you were so happy to see me, huh? That makes sense." She joked, feeling her good mood coming right back at being next to the two people who were her everything.

Killian laughed at that, and teased Henry for a few seconds as the little boy was chuckling. Finally, he placed his hand in the satchel he was wearing around his shoulders. Emma leaned forward, a bit intrigued, wondering what was this surprise her friend seemed so happy about. With a raise of his eyebrows and a proud smirk on his face, Killian finally got a beautiful book out of the bag.

She needed a few seconds to realize what this meant. It was the same book that had been ruined by the kids the day before. He'd gone to pay another book to her son, while he didn't have any money left. He'd probably used the entirety of the gold he'd earned thanks to his job the day before, just to please her little boy. He'd done the impossible to make her kid happy.

She couldn't believe it. She knew Killian always took good care of Henry, and he had already offered him so much when he was rich, but this was different. This book meant something, especially since he was as poor as she was, now. He'd wanted to help this little boy he knew for barely a few months, so he would regain his smile. This same little boy that considered him as his own father. It was beautiful, overwhelming, and she didn't know what to do anymore.

The cry of joy that crossed Henry's lips made her come back to reality, but she was still speechless. Her son wrapped his arms around Killian's neck, thanking him over and over again, bouncing up and down in excitement. The situation seemed surreal. She didn't even manage to answer the questioning, and frankly a bit worried glance that Killian was throwing her way. Henry kept on screaming his joy, and she kept on staring at her friend with her heart pounding incredibly fast in her chest.

"It's too dark to read outside." The little boy said. "I'm going back to the room. Thank you, Killian! I'm so happy!"

He got back to the tavern, almost running, so glad to be able to continue this story that had seemed to passionate him. She was still too surprised to do anything. She was slowly realizing what Killian had done for her baby boy. He'd made him so damn happy. Henry's sadness had gone away, as if the last events had never happened. The gesture was so beautiful she didn't know what to say or do anymore.

When he was sure that Henry was gone, Killian took her hand in his, looking deeply worried because of her silence. The touch of his hand sent a shiver up her arm and down her spine. She didn't know how to thank him properly. It was just a book, sure, but it meant so much more to her. Because it'd brought back her son's smile. Every words she could think of seemed meaningless, and she didn't know what to say.

Her heartbeats suddenly fastened a bit more. An insane idea had just crossed her mind. But, somehow, she really wanted for that crazy desire to become real.

"Swan, are you all right, love?" He asked, before adding because of her lack of reaction, not having a clue that she was trying to fight against this desire that had taken its place in her entire being. "I apologize, darling. I hope you're not angry with me. I know you wanted to give this book to Henry yourself. But I saw it in the marketplace today, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity. I'm..."

Tired to fight against herself, because she just wanted to do what she desired for once, trying not to think too much about what she was doing, she took a step forward. Wrapping her arm around Killian's neck, she invaded his personal space, and broke the distance between them to press her mouth against his.

He tasted sweet, with a hint of salt on his lips. He seemed surprised at first, then cupped her head and kissed her back. She needed one more moment, too dizzy because of the things his tongue against hers made her feel, to realize what this gesture meant. She stepped back, breaking their embrace before it'd had the chance to really start.

She couldn't believe herself, panting. She also couldn't help herself but to lick her lips to get one last taste of him. She'd just kissed her best friend, without asking him if it was okay. And the worst part was that she had liked it, and she didn't want to think about what this meant. His beautiful eyes were staring at her, looking stunned and confused, but his pupils were dilated and he was panting as well. She stuttered, appalled by the realization of what she'd done :

"Oh my god. Oh my god, Killian. Please, forgive me. I'm sorry. I don't know what's got into me. I'm..."

This time, he was the one who interrupted her before she'd had to chance to finish. He wrapped his arms around her, glued his body to hers, sending shivers to places she didn't even know were there, and kissed her once more. Her back hit the trunk of the tree behind her, but they didn't care. The kiss lasted for a very long time. He was everywhere, his smell invading her, his hand carefully traveling the curves of her shoulders and neck, their tongues dancing in perfect harmony, as if they'd always been destined to find themselves there.

They only parted when they found themselves panting, their lungs screaming for oxygen. She blinked a few times, trying to clear up her blurry vision. She couldn't see anything else but him anymore. Him and these beautiful eyes, this scar on his cheek, the taste of his lips. She was wondering if she'd turned crazy. The idea of kissing her best friend seemed so surreal, and yet so natural.

His left arm still wrapped around her waist, his hand gripped at the ring he'd offered her, which she'd never taken off. He gently tug at it and said with a wide smile, lips brushing against hers. "Please, do not apologize."

"Wait, what does that mean?" She said breathlessly, trying to think clearly but failing, because he was everywhere and she felt so complete. "You mean that… You agree?"

"Agree with what?" He simply asked.

"Well, this. Us. Whatever this is that's happening right now."

"Oh, love." He slightly shook his head, as if he were stating the obvious. "Don't you know for how long I've been dreaming of this moment?"

This sentence would have normally made her run without a second thought. It meant he wanted this, he wanted this intimacy they'd just shared together. But at her own surprise, she just felt herself smile and blush a bit. Because she hadn't ruined anything by kissing him. Because he wanted this too. And because she felt so safe, and loved, and beautiful in his arms.

"Is it all right if I keep kissing you?" He asked, making her chuckle as his knuckles were gently brushing against her cheekbone.

"I would like that very much." She just answered, making him smile.

He approached her once again, and started to kiss her with so much softness her heart grew about twice its size. His hand running through her hair, back, neck, his hook on the small of her back, everything was making her feel things she'd never felt before. It was bigger than desire, bigger than lust. It was a pure connection to each other. She was almost feeling on the edge, just sensing his lips and tongue against hers.

She didn't know for how long the kiss lasted. Hours, maybe, or a few minutes, but she didn't care. Nothing existed anymore, but him and the touch of his hand, the dance of his mouth. After a while, he pulled away, making her moan in disagreement. He pressed his forehead against hers, noses brushing against one another, chuckling a bit at her reaction. In a whisper, he said :

"Maybe we should go back inside."

"Maybe we should, yeah." She said, feeling dizzy, but none of them moved an inch.

It made him laugh out loud. He moved to press a path of little kisses down her jaw and neck, stopping on her collarbone and gently nibbling at her skin. She laughed as well, grabbing his shoulders for balance. But then he pulled away for good, pressing one last kiss on the tip of her nose and holding her hand to say.

"I'll be upstairs with the lad. See you later, Swan."

"See you later, Killian." She just answered, still feeling like she was floating above the ground.

She watched him disappear in the dark, and he kept on looking at her until he was unable to. She stayed there for a long while, back still pressed against the tree, still feeling his taste in her mouth. Her heart was pounding so fast it could get out of her chest at any given moment. Then she smiled, and walked back into the tavern, not knowing what was about to happen, but incredibly happy.

* * *

**Nowadays**

Killian's lips were on hers the moment she finished that part of the story. Their first kiss was such a special memory in her mind, the first time she'd felt so loved in her entire life, and she'd felt the same way every day ever since. Dizzy, safe, just deeply happy.

"I'm so lucky to have you in my life, my Swan." he whispered against her lips.

"I'm the lucky one" She just answered, gently stroking his cheek and looking at this face she knew by heart.

He shook his head and looked at her like she was an angel coming straight from heaven to bless him. She kissed his lips once again, then started back where she had stopped for the last part of this story. The story of how they'd become a family.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy holidays everyone! So I'm coming back with this insanely long chapter (I guess I had a lot to tell). This is the last part of the story of how they fell in love with each other. Next chapter is happening in the present, and is the beginning of the main story this fiction is going to tell. I hope you'll like it! :)

**Two years ago**

She tried not to think too much about what was happening between her and Killian, after their first kiss. She'd promised herself not to trust anyone ever again after Neal, but this felt so different. He was always there, always making sure she was okay, always telling her she was beautiful and amazing. And she felt complete with him.

After their moment in the forest, she'd joined him in her room, and despite her cheeks that had turned red at the sight of his kiss swollen lips, they'd quietly decided not to talk to Henry about what had happened yet. She didn't know what it meant herself, explaining it to her son would have been too complicated. And she didn't want to put words on the situation. What they shared was too beautiful to be named. And she was scared of her own reaction if she started to think about what this kiss really meant.

The following days were punctuated by stolen kisses, shared when they thought that no one was watching. Behind a tree, not far from the tavern, his tongue gently dancing with hers, or in the hall, next to her room, after Henry had gone to bed. She would often laugh at their little elopements, and moan at the way his hand would touch her neck and hair. She felt like a teenager all over again, except this time it felt right.

The best part was that, aside from this new intimacy and this desire to kiss him whenever she could, nothing felt different between them. As if they'd always been destined to live that kind of relationship. She couldn't understand back then that they'd been a couple long before sharing their first kiss. You don't need to kiss someone to be intimate, after all.

It's only a couple of weeks later that they found themselves forced to stop hiding. They were both tucking Henry in for the night, kneeling before his bed. Right after yawning loudly and as Emma was sure that he was about to fall asleep, he said :

"Killian, you wanna stay here tonight?"

"Huh?" They both answered at the same time, and they shared a glance, looking both completely taken aback by her son's offer.

"What makes you say that, kid?" She blinked in surprise.

"Well, isn't that what couples usually do?"

She choked on the air around her. "Couples?" She repeated, feeling Killian's gaze burning on her skin, as if he were anxiously waiting for her reaction. They'd never put a label on their relationship, and Henry wasn't supposed to know what was going on. "What do you mean?"

"Seriously?" Henry laughed, definitely quite perceptive for an eight-year-old. "You both think you're so discreet, don't you?"

On that note, he turned his back to them, as if he were about to fall asleep and what he'd said hadn't been of any kind of importance. Emma looked at Killian, eyes wide and shaking her head. He was looking as surprised as she was. Neither of them had noticed that her son knew about them, whatever that statement meant.

The fact that her son had called them a couple had made her feel a bit strange. But at the same time and at her own surprise, she wasn't scared. It felt good, to think about Killian as her partner. She held back a small smile, and gently grabbed Henry's shoulder so she could see his face. He looked at her with one eyebrow raised, and it suddenly hit her how much her little boy had grown up.

"Henry, for how long do you know?" She asked.

She was sincerely hoping that he was okay with what was going on between Killian and her. A great part of this decision to hide their new intimacy had been because they didn't want to make the little boy suffer. She also knew deep down that she'd decided to hide everything because she hadn't wanted to name this relationship just yet. But not anymore. She felt ready, assured, happy. And damn, that felt so good.

"Since the day after Killian offered me the book." He said as if it were nothing, but her lips parted in surprise.

"You knew all along?" Killian said, expressing her thoughts out loud.

"Of course." Henry answered with a small smirk. "As I said, you both think you're so discreet..."

"Oh, God, kid." Emma whispered, biting her bottom lip in worry, feeling guilty all of the sudden. "I'm sorry you had to learn this that way. How do you feel about it? Be honest. We won't get mad, I promise."

"What kind of question is that, mom?" He kindly scoffed. "How do you want me to feel? I think this is awesome! You seem happy, and Killian is officially a member of our family, now."

She turned to Killian, suddenly a bit worried. This was a big step for them. They'd never talked about what they were, just enjoying the other's' presence, and even if she knew that they were more than friends, she'd never considered them as a couple before. But it sounded so good. Even though it was scary, she was feeling a part of her walls coming down to finally let him in a bit more. Neal had abandoned her. Being in a relationship was hard. But, somehow, she knew he wasn't going to hurt her. Not him.

This was because of her troubled past that they hadn't gone any further than kissing yet. They had the opportunity to, Henry was old enough to stay in the room alone for a couple of hours as they were going to the Jolly Roger, but they hadn't even talked about this possibility. He was showing her that he would wait until she was ready, by his tender gestures and sweet kisses, because he would never pressure her to do anything she didn't want to. She was a bit scared of herself, scared to take that big leap of faith. Because she knew how she could react.

This possible event could bring her old instincts back to life. Every time she'd slept with someone since Neal, she had never seen them again, never giving herself a chance to live a real relationship. With Killian, it was different. She wouldn't stand not having him in her life. And she didn't want to run away anymore.

She was scared about his reaction to Henry's words, too. He'd lost Milah, and he'd never really overcome her death. She didn't know if he wanted to be a part of this family. She didn't know if he was ready.

But the silly smile he gave her told her the opposite. He seemed so damn happy, it made butterflies appear in the pit of her stomach. He looked at Henry with shinning eyes, and pulled her closer to press a tender kiss on her cheek. She felt her entire body relaxing as he was holding her close, and smiled as their fingers were interlacing naturally. If she could have doubts when he wasn't there, as soon as he was by her side, everything seemed so natural, obvious.  _Couple._  She really did like that idea, after all.

"It would be an honor to become a part of this amazing family, lad." Killian said, his left arm wrapped around her and still holding her close.

"Well, if we're being honest, you're a part of this family since the moment we met you." Her son said, and she sighed in surprise, because he was so mature for his young age. "Now, if you two don't mind, I'm tired and would like to sleep." He added, what made her snort. "But my offer still stands. If you wanna stay, Killian, you're more than welcome."

"I'll see this with your mum." Killian answered in a chuckle, leaning to press a kiss on Henry's forehead. "Good night, lad."

Her son simply smiled as an answer, and she stayed snuggled in Killian's arms until Henry had fallen asleep. When his breathing had gotten steady, Killian turned to her, an eyebrow raised and silently asking her what she wanted to do. As always, he was waiting for her opinion, not wanting to push her to do anything. He had so much respect for her, it made her want to kiss him senseless.

So that's what she did. Leaning to press her lips against his for a few seconds, she said. "I want you to stay."

The smile he offered her was worth everything in the world. She briefly parted from him to go fetch another blanket in the corner of the room. Silently, she took his hand and made him lay down on the ground next to her. She rested her head on his chest as he was wrapping his arm around her. They both knew that they couldn't do anything with Henry in the room, obviously. But she was just happy to sleep in the comfort of his arms.

"I'm sorry, the floor isn't really comfortable." She whispered, gently tickling the skin of his neck and making him shiver.

"Don't apologize, love. Thanks for accepting me here."

She smiled and looked up to press a sweet kiss on his jaw, before snuggling a bit more closer to him. She was grinning. She thought for a moment about what had just happened, about this name that Henry had chosen for them and that she liked so much, that seemed so natural. She didn't feel ready to tell him how she felt when he looked at her, how everything disappeared and how she was only left with his blue eyes and this deep feeling of pure happiness, not yet anyway. But she could tell him something else, something simpler.

"I'm happy you're here." She whispered against his skin.

He kissed the top of her head, and she could feel how his heart had fastened at her words. "I'm glad to be here, too. Good night, Swan."

"Good night, Killian."

It was the start of numerous nights spent in each others' arms.

* * *

"You're crazy." Emma said in awe, finally discovering the restaurant in front of which she was standing, Killian and Henry by her side.

The building was huge, even if it was a bit less fancy than the one they'd gone to for Henry's birthday. Her reaction made her son laugh, and Killian held her even closer to him, arm wrapped around her waist and a smirk on his lips. He gently dropped a kiss to her temple, burying his nose in her hair for a moment to breathe her in.

"We need to celebrate this day, don't we?" He kindly answered, and she turned to press a quick peck on his lips.

It was her twenty-sixth birthday, and Killian had insisted to take them out for dinner, her and her son. If the restaurant was a bit less luxurious than  _The Treasure_  had been, it was still huge and she didn't know how he would be able to offer them a meal in this establishment. Then she remembered how hard he'd worked lately, probably to prepare for this date.

She smiled at this thought and snuggled a bit closer to him to thank him silently. Even though they didn't have a lot of money, he was truly spoiling her every time he could. A month had passed since they'd shared their first kiss, and if they still hadn't talked about what their relationship meant, she knew now that they were a real couple. They'd already been one way before their first kiss, but that was official, now. They were together against the world, forming their little family with Henry.

He'd always been there, since the moment she'd met him. He'd supported her, and their tender gestures toward each others had become even more constant, now that they could show to the world the reality of their feelings. At the time, she still couldn't admit to herself that she was deeply, head over heels in love with Killian Jones. Even if she'd come a long way, some of her walls were still there, and she couldn't bring them down all at once. Her past had been too rough and painful.

But he was helping her, day after day. And he was patiently waiting for her to be ready to go any further with him. They still hadn't done anything more than kissing, despite sleeping almost every night in each others' arms, on the floor of her little room. He was silently making her understand that he would wait for as long as she wanted him to. Because he loved her, so much, even if he knew that telling her those words would scare her. So he was doing his best to show her how much he cared without saying it out loud.

"For how many hours have you worked to be able to offer us this?" She sighed as they were walking to the building.

"Stop asking questions and enjoy the well-deserved gift." He said playfully, then regained his seriousness to add : "You deserve the world, Swan. This meal isn't much."

She offered him a small smile. She was used to his compliments by now, and he just pressed a kiss to her cheek to encourage her. Sighing once again, she ran her palms against the fabric of her dress, regretting to have put on something so simple. She hadn't expected him to take her to such a fancy place when she'd gotten dressed.

"God, I'm so not dressed for this."

"You're the most beautiful woman in this restaurant, or in all the realms, if I'm being honest. Stop worrying. You're stunning."

It made her blush and she took his hand in hers to walk to the restaurant, suddenly feeling more assured. He was actually looking at her like she was brighter than the sun, and it was making her feel so much better. That night was going to be a good one.

The time they spent at the restaurant was absolutely perfect, reminding her of the moments they'd shared for Henry's birthday. Except so many things had changed in the span of two months. They were together, now, he was almost living with them in their little room, and the gestures of affection they showed weren't shy, but tender and loving. And he was offering them this meal with the gold he'd earned working. It meant so much to her. No one had never done anything like that for her before, and she didn't know how to express how she was feeling with words.

It's only later that she found a way to silently tell her feelings to this wonderful man.

They'd decided to go back to the Jolly Roger for the night, for the very first time. Killian had told them there was a room for Henry, and he'd insisted for her to sleep in a real bed for her birthday. She'd accepted the offer without much of a thought. Henry seemed happy to spend the night on the ship, and the Jolly wasn't far from the tavern, she could walk to work in the morning.

And she had to admit that sleeping on a real mattress was tempting. She was only twenty-six, but her long hours spent at work and these nights on the wooden floor of the room, had already damaged her back quite a bit. It wasn't unusual for her to feel uncomfortable, and she wanted to enjoy this opportunity that was offered to her. And besides, spending the night on the ship meant that they could have a bit of intimacy, this time. It could only do them good.

After tucking Henry into one of the vacant bed, Killian took her hand and led her to the captain's quarter. She sat on the table in the middle of the room, letting her legs dangle, and watched him take a flask of rum out of his leather coat. He smirked at her and handed it to her with a raise of his eyebrows that made her chuckle.

"Would you try to get me drunk, captain?"

He laughed at that, wrapping one arm around her to stroke her back. "I wouldn't dare. And you don't need rum to find me devilishly handsome."

"That's for sure." she winked at him, before taking a big sip out of the flask.

They talked for a long time as the alcohol was slowly infiltrating their veins and blurring their mind. Watching him, she was wondering what she'd done that was so good in her life to deserve such a wonderful man by her side. He'd always been there for her, since day one, even though she'd pushed him away at first. She didn't know what to say to show him how much she cared about him. She felt complete next to him, but the words wouldn't come out of her mouth when she was trying to tell him.

It's as the room was beginning to slightly spin around her that she found the solution to her problem. She was going to show him how she felt. She'd always been better at acting than at talking, anyway.

The alcohol was only strengthening this desire to kiss every inch of his body. She'd had to restrain herself from this idea several times already, too scared about her own reaction when they would take that step in their relationship. But she wasn't afraid anymore, and it wasn't only because of the rum. She trusted him, more than anyone. So, without asking herself more questions, she approached him and pressed her mouth against his, her tongue asking for an entrance he allowed immediately.

Then, everything fastened. They kissed and kissed for a very long time, then found themselves settled on the bed of the room. She was straddling his legs, trying to unfasten the buttons of his vest while still kissing him, because she didn't want to stop, even for a second.

As she was about to take the piece of clothing off him, shaky hands sliding down his shoulders and jerky breath at the desire she was feeling blooming in her lower stomach, he gently pulled away from her. He kept his hand pressed against her back as she was still above him, and tried to meet her eyes. She could watch him more carefully, then. His hair was messy and his swollen lips made her want to kiss him even more. But he started in a very low, raspy voice, his fingers tracing little shivers down her back.

"Swan, I don't know if this is a good idea. We drank, and..."

"You don't want to?" She cut him off, feeling a crippling fear invading her chest at the idea that she'd been wrong, and that, after all, they weren't anything more than friends. Her insecurities were surfacing again, and she pulled away a bit, but he wrapped both his arms around her to hold her close.

"Are you joking, darling? Of course I want this" He said, staring at her with wide eyes, and she sighed in relief, allowing him to tug her close again. "I want you. Always. But… Are you certain you agree with what we're doing here? I'm afraid it's the rum making you want this, right now. I know your past, love. I don't want you to regret this tomorrow. I want you to be ready, whenever this time may come, and I'll wait as long as you need me to."

"I want you, too, Killian." She whispered, her right hand going up his neck to run through his dark locks. "It's not the rum talking. I've wanted you for a very long time."

"Are you absolutely sure of that?" He insisted looking worried, and she thought that this man was so wonderful, taking care of her that way. "I'm only human, love. I can only restrain myself for a little while, when you're looking at me that way."

She leaned to press her forehead against his for a second, and placed a little kiss on his lips. Then she brushed her nose against his and whispered against his mouth, enjoying the dark shade his blue eyes had taken at his lust.

"Don't hold back, then. It's bad form to discuss the wish of a birthday girl, isn't it?"

He laughed at the words she'd chosen, and held her close, bringing her mouth back against his. Then, all of the sudden, still kissing her, he shifted them so she was laying on her back. He was above her now, and whispered, leaning to kiss her again and again.

"As you wish, my darling. I'm all yours."

His mouth started to move, getting a bit lower, tracing a path down her jaw, neck, collarbone, and leaving traces on her cleavage. Little moans were escaping her lips, but she couldn't control them anymore. He found himself bare chest quite quickly. Running her hands down his arms and chest, she marveled at the strength and comfort of him, at his taste in her mouth, at his hand over her body.

She was arching her back to glue herself to him, just a little bit more, when he suddenly stopped. When she looked up at him, she noticed that he was frowning. She was about to ask him what was wrong, suddenly worried, when she understood. He was looking at his hook, and she got his quiet questions and insecurities. He didn't know if he had to keep it or not. He was wondering if she accepted everything about him, the pirate in him and the scars on his body. He didn't know that she admired every single part of him. She placed her hand on his brace and looked into his eyes to say :

"It's whatever you prefer, Killian. It doesn't matter to me. I want you. All of you."

He had a small smile, then, with a sigh, he took of his brace and placed it on the floor of the room. "With you, I don't want to be Hook. I want to be Killian."

She could feel at the way he was now looking at her, and the tip of his ears that had turned red, that he was feeling incredibly insecure about this decision. As if her feelings could lessen because of his scars, because of his past. She smiled at him reassuringly, and gently brought his left arm to her lips. There, on his stump, where his brace had been seconds before, she pressed a bunch of little kisses, showing him that she loved all of him, since she couldn't say it out loud, not yet.

He seemed absolutely awestruck, staring at her for a few seconds before starting to kiss her again, even more lovingly if it was even possible. He stopped one last time to take her dress off and toss it on the floor. She was naked before his eyes, but she didn't feel self-conscious or insecure. She felt good, and when he pulled himself up a bit to look at every inch of her skin, she felt like she was about to melt on the spot. His thumb was slowly drawing circles on the skin of her stomach, and he finally said, looking at her like she was an angel coming right from heaven to bless him.

"You're so beautiful, Emma."

Before she could answer anything, he let his mouth get lower and lower down her stomach, to finally reach her center and make her moan. This was the first of many nights where, at the edge of her orgasm, she would think that he was incredibly good with his tongue and remaining hand.

He was everywhere, hand tracing her body, worshiping her like she was a true goddess and whispering against her skin how beautiful, amazing she was. When he entered her, she felt as if they'd always been destined to find themselves there, as if everything they'd had to go through in their lives had been to bring them to this moment. And as he was moving gently inside of her, lovingly and gracefully, she felt like all this pain had been worth it, if it'd brought her to be living these incredible feelings right now.

The night was already well settled when they laid back down in the bed, sweaty and panting, still holding onto each other and naked bodies glued together. She had her head against his shoulder and his arm was around her and she felt like she belonged. She felt so incredibly, deeply happy she didn't want to move an inch, taking in his scent and everything that was making him the incredible man he was.

She wasn't scared anymore. Despite the rum that was starting to fade away, she felt safe. What he'd made her feel that night, nobody had never done it before. It'd been bigger than physical pleasure. Sure, it'd been without a doubt the best night of her life, but the harmony she'd felt as they were moving together, the words whispered to her ear as she was grabbing his back for balance, had only made her feelings grow for him, if it was even possible.

She kissed him one last time on his collarbone before diving into her dreams, a smile still dancing on her lips

* * *

And the days, the months went by. The bound they shared grew even stronger, and their story went on. They would never spend a night apart anymore. Every two nights, they would go on the Jolly Roger to have the intimacy they were lacking when they were sleeping in her little room. Because if their first time had been incredible, the nights that had followed had been even better. They knew each other by heart, now, they knew what they liked and their moments together were so intense it felt like a dream.

They spent all their time together, the three of them with Henry. They talked, laughed, joked, and she'd never been this happy in her entire life. But her happiness was so strong that, for a moment, she'd forgotten about who Killian was and what was going to happen eventually.

He was going to leave, when the Jolly Roger would be able to go back at sea. And this realization hit her like a punch in the stomach after months spent in her little bubble of happiness.

Three months had passed since her birthday. They'd spent the night on the ship, and she was walking by herself to the tavern. Killian and Henry usually came with her, but he'd gotten a job that day, and her son had wanted to come with him. She was feeling good, that morning, a silly smile on her face. She could still remember how Killian's lips had felt on her body the night before.

And then, she realized it. Nothing particular happened, she just came back to reality while walking the way they'd taken to say goodbye the first time he'd left. She had to stop moving, her breathing stuck in her throat, feeling suddenly sick. He was a pirate. He was going to leave, sooner than later. He'd already stayed for a very long time. His departure was going to happen soon, she knew it. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought about this sooner. She couldn't believe she was going to get hurt again.

Her legs were shaking, and she had to lean against a tree for balance. She was dizzy, and something in her stomach felt wrong. She couldn't believe herself. She'd actually forgotten who Killian was, because of her feelings for him. She'd gotten attached to the man who was going to leave her, again.

It wasn't his fault. He needed gold to survive. And he would lose his crew and the Jolly Roger if he refused to go back at sea when the ship would be fixed. On that moment, panicking, she didn't realize that she'd never seen one member of his crew anywhere near the Jolly Roger, and that he'd never worked on fixing his ship. She was too freaked out and hurt.

She couldn't follow him at sea, she thought. She wanted to, badly, but she just couldn't. She wouldn't drag Henry into a life of constant danger. And she was in a relationship with this wonderful, amazing man, her feelings were so strong she couldn't imagine spending a day without him. Hell, she was in love with him. She loved him so damn much, and he was going to walk away. He only wanted her happiness, but he was going to break her heart. And her little boy's along with hers.

She could feel her panic coming at her in waves. She couldn't breathe, and she didn't know what to do to fix this situation. She should have remembered that Killian was a pirate, and what he would be forced to do sooner or later. She couldn't fall out in love with him. She loved everything about him, every little details. And she couldn't talk to him, because he would just tell her that everything would be okay, but it would be a lie. Nothing would be fine if he wasn't by her side. She was going to get hurt again, and she didn't know how she would be able to overcome a new abandon.

So, she chose the only solution that seemed logical in her mind. Her walls got right back up as she was shaking, and the only thing she could do to protect herself was what she'd always done since the day of her birth.

Running away.

Not literally, of course. She had a life there, a job, and she couldn't take Henry and disappear without a word. But she could do something. Pushing Killian away was the only solution. She couldn't get hurt when he would leave again. She had to break this incredible bound between them in order to preserve her heart and feel like she had some control over the situation.

When Killian came back to the tavern that night, carrying her son, her eyes were red from all the tears she'd shed when no one was watching. She was exhausted, but she knew she didn't have a choice, she had to break what they had. Even if it was going to be incredibly painful, she would be fine later on.

She barely smiled at his sight, but the grin he offered her almost made her give up on everything and kiss him senseless. She didn't approach him and his smile disappeared when he realized she wasn't coming to greet him.

She hugged her son, trying to find strength in his embrace and telling herself that she was protecting Henry from a heartbreak too, as Killian was frowning at her. He placed his hand on her shoulder, silently asking her what was wrong, but she didn't say a thing. She didn't want to talk to him. She knew she would start crying again, or she would tell him what she had in mind and he would reassure her while he was going to leave them, and none of them could do something about that.

But she also knew that he wasn't going to let go before knowing what was wrong with her. He could feel she was miserable, she could tell, and she had to find an excuse to get away from him. She sighed, blinked a few times to keep her tears at bay, and said to her son :

"Would you go up in the room for a bit, kid? I'd like to talk with Killian."

Her son seemed to guess right away that something was happening. He looked at her for a minute, then obeyed without trying to protest, knowing that something important was going on there. She watched him go up the stairs, then turned back to look at Killian.

She felt it even harder not to cry when she noticed his blue eyes shinning with worry and a bit of fear. He was confused to be hitting a wall instead of finding the woman he loved. He was used to the soft, affectionate Emma. But now, she had to be tough and cold. She didn't want to hurt him, tough. She loved him, so much. But she had to protect herself, she wouldn't survive another abandon, and she had to walk away from this.

"What's the matter, Emma?" He asked, taking a step forward to wrap his arm around her waist, resting his hook on the small of her back.

"It's nothing, Killian. I'm just… tired." That wasn't a total lie, but she had to go on, she had to run away, now, or her heart would shatter in a thousand pieces.

"You're not feeling well?" He worried immediately. "Can I do anything to help you? Did you eat, today? Aren't you feeling that way because you're hungry?"

"I don't need anything." She said in a whisper, tears in her eyes. "But I do have something to ask you."

"Anything, darling." He said, pulling her to him for a hug.

She didn't resist, and rested her head on his shoulder. It was too much, to walk away from him. She had to push him away, and yet she didn't know how to. Because she wanted him, and it was scaring her to death. He was going to leave. She couldn't love him. She'd let him too close to her heart.

It was her own fault, she couldn't blame anyone but herself, but she had to run so she wouldn't crumble. She had a little boy who needed her more than anything, and she couldn't let him down. She had to be strong, for him, and staying with Killian wouldn't allow her to be a good mom, because she would be left broken when he would disappear, and Henry needed her whole.

"Could you sleep on your ship instead of here, tonight?" She whispered in his shoulder. "I need to rest, be alone for a bit."

The grip he had on her loosened a bit, and she reluctantly looked up to meet his hurt expression. She almost started to sob. He felt rejected, and she just wanted to tell him that she had to, even if she didn't want to live without him. But she couldn't, she had to go on with her plan. She had to protect her heart.

He pulled himself together in a matter of second, and offered her a kind smile, nodding to show his support. He wasn't even mad at her, and she felt like a terrible person. She didn't deserve him anyway, she thought. He was better off without her, wasn't he? He leaned to press a quick peck on her lips, and she wanted to deepen the kiss, but restrain herself at the last second.

"I understand, Swan. Don't you worry. Get some rest, you need it. I'll be there tomorrow for the opening"

'Okay." She said in a muffled voice.

She let him go, feeling like her heart was breaking. She waited for him to have disappeared before leaning against a wall and starting to cry. Her sobs were so violent she bent a little from the pain. The worst was the she knew he was the only one who would have been able to comfort her in that moment. He was the only one able to make her happy. But she just had to run away. For her own good.

* * *

Emma tried for days to push the man she loved away. But her feelings were too strong and she failed every single time. He tried to make her tell him what was wrong, when she would find herself on the edge of crying at the idea that she was losing him but that she had to, and he would take her in his arms to kiss the top of her head.

She couldn't resist his embrace in these moments. She needed his strong arms to comfort her, but she always felt guilty afterwards. She was suffering, she was hurting him as well, and she didn't want to, she didn't want him to be in pain. But she had to leave him. It couldn't go on or her heart would break once again.

She was sad and mad all the time. She didn't know what to do anymore. She felt like she was drowning in a vicious circle. She was angry at Killian for being so loving with her, because she couldn't push him away when he was that sweet. And she hated herself for being mad at him, because he was amazing and she was hurting him. This situation seemed hopeless. God, it would have been so much easier if she hadn't fallen in love with him in the first place. Feelings always ended up hurting her. She should have learned her lessons way sooner.

Exhausted, she took the first occasion she found to break this bound they were sharing. She couldn't go on that way. The sooner the better, right? She didn't want to suffer anymore. And she lied to herself, thinking that he would be better off without her anyway, while she knew that it wasn't true at all.

Four days had passed since she'd realized that he was going to leave her. She was feeling sick, she couldn't eat anymore and she hadn't slept for two days. She was feeling like she was turning insane, like she was about to crumble at any given moments. On top of everything, Calvin had been awful for the entire day, seeing that she was already feeling down. This little asshole really wanted to make her life a living hell.

She was now waiting outside of the tavern, during one of her break. The sun was starting to slowly set in the sky, and it was cold outside. Killian and Henry were late. They were supposed to get back to eat with her – even though she knew she wouldn't be able to ingest a thing – but she was standing there for a few minutes already and they still hadn't come back. She was furious.

Killian had brought her son for a walk on the beach, despite the cold weather. It was the first time they weren't there to greet her after one of her shift. Killian was usually incredibly punctual, he knew what time it was by simply glancing at the sky. Their delay was worrying and pissing her off at the same time. She was feeling like she was about to implode from the stress, and she didn't know what to do to calm herself down.

The figures of Killian and her son only appeared a few minutes later. Henry ran to her for a hug, but she only absently embraced him. Her heart was pounding, and she scowled at Killian, her jaw clenched. She had the opportunity to get mad at him, even if the situation was only an excuse, and she needed to put an end to this, because she was turning crazy. She needed to stop hurting, and getting angry was the only solution she'd found to push Killian away.

His smile disappeared when he met her gaze, and he frowned, looking deeply worried by her reaction. She didn't answer right away, trying to stop her heart from exploding. She said in a voice as cold as ice, that surprised her herself :

"You're late."

He blinked in surprise because of her dry comment. He opened his mouth, maybe to apologize, but she didn't let him. Turning to Henry, who was looking at her with wide eyes, obviously worried, she said :

"Can you go up to the room, kid?"

"But, Mom!" He protested, wanting to know what was happening to her. "I wanna tell you what we saw at the beach with Killian."

"You can tell me everything later, I promise. I need to talk to Killian alone, first."

"Why?" He frowned, knowing that something was wrong.

"It's grown-ups stuffs, Henry." She said, feeling more and more annoyed, and she understood there that she was even more furious than she'd realized, because she never got mad at her son for no reason.

"But..." He tried again.

She cut him off there, almost screaming : "Henry! Go to your room!"

He startled at that, and looked at her as if to make sure he'd heard correctly. She never screamed at him. Even when he'd done something bad, which only happened rarely, she would explain to him why it was wrong instead of shouting. She realized one second too late that she'd messed up. Her son hadn't done anything to deserve this, and yelling at him because she was in pain wasn't right. She opened her mouth to apologize, but he suddenly seemed incredibly mad, and she felt a lump appear in her throat.

"Kid, I'm..."

He didn't give her the time to finish. He turned away and ran to the tavern, walking up the stairs loudly, as if to show her just how mad he was. Appalled by her own behavior, she sank her head into her hands. She was doing everything wrong, lately, and she hated herself. Seeing that she was about to start crying, Killian took a step forward, but she didn't let him touch her. The pain in his features felt like a stab in her guts.

"Listen, Swan, I'm really sorry." He started in a broken voice. "We were watching the sunset, and I didn't see the time pass."

"You can be sorry." She said coldly, but the sobs in her throat were also audible. "I was worried."

"Forgive me, love. I didn't wish to concern you..."

"But I didn't know where my own son was!" She cried out, avoiding his gaze. "I thought I was turning crazy!"

"Emma!" He frowned, losing his apologetic expression to defend himself against accusations she herself knew were undue. "You knew he was with me! I'd never let anything happen to the lad, you know that. You know how much I care, and that I would give my life to protect him. You trust me, right?"

She knew he was anxiously waiting for a validation, and she was going to hurt him, but she couldn't stop, or she would throw herself in his arms again and she would only suffer more. "Maybe I shouldn't." She said in a muffled voice, and he took a step back. "You promised me to always be there on time!"

"All right, I see." He replied in a dry tone that he'd never used before with her, and she felt like she was going to cry, because she was ruining everything, and if it was her goal it was also killing her. "I know what's really happening here."

"Oh yeah?" She scoffed, and she hated herself for it. "That's right. I'm an open book to you, right? You think you know me so well. Please, tell me what's going on, then."

"I know this hides something bigger, Swan. I'm not an idiot. You just yelled at Henry, and it's never happened before. You're pushing me away, while everything was great a few days ago. What's really going on in the head of yours? Why are you running? What are you afraid of? I know this argument is only an excuse to push me away."

She felt so furious, that he could read her so well. "That's not it, not at all!"

"Oh, is that right?" He groaned, looking more and more annoyed "You know what, Swan? I don't believe you."

"Well, okay then, since you insist on knowing!" She knew she was going to tell things she would regret, but she needed to do this, even more than before because he knew her by heart and it couldn't go on that way. "You wanna know why I'm so angry at you?"

"I'm listening."

"It's because I've realized who you really were! You're a pirate,  _Hook"_  She knew how low it was to call him by his moniker, but she kept on going anyway. "You hurt people for a living! I can't show to my son that this is okay, to be a criminal!"

She'd spit out the last words as they were burning her throat. His eyes grew dark with rage and pain. Her chest was raising quickly, and she was already regretting her words. She hadn't wanted to hurt him. But he loved her so much, he was insisting on knowing what was wrong, and telling those horrible things had been the only way she'd found to make him give up on her.

She knew she was wrong, and she felt like a terrible person. She knew how much he suffered from what he'd done in his past. He'd trusted her with his story, and she was using it against him. God, she hated herself. She could still apologize, but she was frozen on the spot. She had to restrain herself from grabbing his arm and telling him she was sorry over and over again when he turned away from her, tears in his eyes. She watched him walk away without doing anything to hold him back.

She waited for him to be far away before sitting on the ground, her back against a tree. She was broken by her own actions, now. She'd been awful. But at least, she couldn't get hurt again if she was alone, right? She couldn't let him break her heart, but she'd just broken his. She didn't deserve him anyway, she thought. He was a much better man than her.

She bent her knees against her chest and started to sob, her shoulders shaking with the strength of her tears. She grabbed his brother's ring, that she was still wearing after all those months. She squeezed it hard, as if to keep a little part of him with her. He was gone for five minutes, and she was already missing him.

* * *

She didn't see Killian for days after that. Without surprise, he didn't show up after their argument, probably staying on the Jolly Roger, incredibly mad at this woman he'd once loved. Because she knew he didn't love her anymore. How could he? She'd ruined everything. It'd been her goal, but she'd never wanted to hurt him. And the worst part was that she didn't feel any better, now that she'd protected her heart from their upcoming separation. She was so miserable, after being so happy. And she hated herself.

She couldn't eat anymore, and would only pass out from exhaustion after crying too much. She'd made him suffer, while he'd done everything for her. She was a terrible person. She missed him so much. She missed his voice, his embraces, his smiles, his kisses, feeling him inside of her at night. She missed everything about him. And she couldn't go find him. She wanted to apologize, to tell him that she hadn't meant what she'd said. But he was going to leave, and she couldn't approach him to lose him all over again.

But because of her actions, she hadn't only lost her lover. She'd also lost her best friend.

She'd tried to apologize to Henry after getting mad at him, but he'd refused to listen to her. To have hurt her son as well made her even more unhappy. God, she was wrong about everything. She was just good at hurting people, and she wanted to punch a wall to punish herself.

But two nights after her argument with Killian, Henry finally forgave her. She didn't deserve this little boy, she thought, as he was coming to snuggle beside her on the floor. He'd probably heard her crying, curled up beneath her blankets. She hadn't wanted him to see her so sad, but keeping her sobs to herself had been too hard, because she was so hurt. He took her in his arms, and feeling her baby boy next to her helped her to feel just a little bit better.

"Did you fight with Killian?" He whispered.

"I'm so sorry, kid." She answered, sniffing and trying to stop her tears from falling. "I'm sorry about yelling at you. I shouldn't have, you'd done nothing wrong. And you shouldn't suffer because of my mistakes."

"It's okay, Mom. I forgive you. And whatever happened, I'm sure Killian is going to forgive you too."

"That's sweet, baby. But he won't. I've been awful. I've set the worst example for you."

"No, you haven't. You're the best mom I could have wished for. I love you, Mommy."

Tears appeared in her eyes, but for a completely different reason. She was so proud of her son. "I love you too, kiddo."

He fell asleep in her arms that night, and managed to calm her down a bit. Henry was probably the only good thing she'd done in her life, and he had the biggest, kindest heart.

The days passed, Henry the only person who could cheer her up in this world that seemed gray and tasteless without Killian in it. She was barely standing on her feet at the tavern, and she even found it difficult to talk because of her exhaustion. And during one of her sleepless night, she took a big decision.

She could feel that Henry was missing Killian. He'd always been so attached to him, and considered him as a father. She couldn't forbid him from seeing this man that he loved so much. Of course, Killian was going to leave sooner or later, but Henry could enjoy the time they still had left together. She just wanted to make him happy, and she knew that Killian would be so glad to see the little boy.

One morning, a week after their big fight and as the sun had risen in a gray, clouded sky, the floor covered with snow, she took her son by the hand, refusing to answer his questions and telling him that she had a surprise. She led him to the Jolly Roger, without approaching the ship too much, and she squatted before him to explain what she had in mind.

"Look, kid. I've thought about this a lot, and I'm trying to do what's right. Killian is mad at me and he has every reason to be, but I won't stop you from seeing him. I trust him, and I know you're safe with him. Would you like to spend some time with him today?"

"Really?" He asked, eyes shinning with pure joy and she knew she'd taken the right decision. "Thank you, Mommy! You're the best, you know that?"

"Have fun, baby." She whispered as he was hugging her tight to show how glad he was. "Be safe, and don't come back too late, okay?"

He nodded, and ran to the ship, so happy to see Killian again. She watched him from a distance, to make sure that he was finding the pirate, and heard him calling his name. Her heart skipped a painful beat when she saw Killian's familiar figure appearing into the morning light. She couldn't see his face, but could easily imagine this smile she'd missed so much. It was painful and relieving to see him all at the same time. It was as if she hadn't completely lost him.

He squatted and hugged Henry, and she saw them talking without being able to hear what they were saying. Then Killian turned to her, maybe because Henry had told him she was there, or because he'd simply felt her gaze on him. She froze on the stop, not knowing what to do. She so wanted to walk to him and apologize for what she'd said, but he hated her and she still had to keep her distance. But hell, how she despised herself.

He looked at her for a few seconds, then turned back to Henry and she felt a tear rolling down her cheek. Wiping it off, she turned away, heart heavy, to go back to work while all she wanted to do was to beg Killian to forgive her for everything that she'd done.

Henry went to see Killian every day, after that. Her son was so happy, and she was allowing him to see the pirate as much as he wanted to. She would walk with him to the ship, and Killian would bring him back in the afternoon, without getting close to the tavern once. He would only watch Henry to make sure that he was home safe. Sometimes, their gaze would meet, and he would turn away from her. Her heart would break all over again, but she knew it was all her fault.

One night, as her son was coming back from the ship, she couldn't hep but ask him the question that was burning her lips for days. She was crouching in front of him, and could feel Killian's gaze burning on her skin as he was standing so far away from her.

"How is Killian?"

"Not that great." Henry admitted with a sigh. "But he always makes sure to smile when he's with me. I think he doesn't want me to worry."

She bit her bottom lip to try and keep her tears at bay. He was suffering, and it was all because of her. She was so stupid. She should have told him the truth and explained to him that she just couldn't stay with him because he would leave eventually. But instead, she'd gotten scared, and she'd been awful. She couldn't come back from this. She was so mad at herself she wanted to bang her head against a wall.

"I think he misses you." Her son whispered.

"Oh, Henry. It's sweet of you to try to make me feel better. But after what I've told him, I really doubt that he's missing me."

"I'm telling the truth." He shrugged. "You wanna know how I know that?"

"Tell me."

"He's always asking how you are as well."

Her heart skipped a beat, and she looked up to stare at Killian from afar, but he was gone. She spent the entire night thinking about those words, squeezing his ring tight and pretending that it was him that she was holding.

* * *

It's only two long weeks after their argument that the situation finally shifted. As she was walking with Henry to the Jolly Roger by a cold morning of winter, everything changed. They were moving into the snow, shivering, and as she'd bent her head to try and protect herself from the coldness of the air, she didn't realize she'd arrived right next to the Jolly Roger.

She would usually be careful not to approach the ship too much, to stay far from Killian, and she startled when she realized where she was. She was about to turn around and run from there, panicked and cursing herself under her breath, when Henry grabbed her arm to stop her from moving. She looked at him, surprised. He had a big smile on his face, as if he'd just come up with a wonderful idea. Still holding her hand firmly, he started to scream before she could free herself from his grip.

"Killian! Killian, come quick!"

"What the hell are you doing?" She groaned, but she gave up on the idea of freeing herself, too scared to hurt him by accident.

"I know it's none of my business and I should stay out of it, but you're both miserable, okay?" He replied, looking at her with sad eyes. "I just want things to be the way they were before, when you were both happy. I'm only asking you to talk to him. And if you still don't wanna see each other after that, it's fine, but at least maybe you'll both feel better. I don't want you to be sad anymore."

"Henry." She started, kneeling in the snow to face him and deeply moved by her son's words. "I assure you I'm okay."

"Mom, I'm not stupid. I can see you're not eating anymore, and I hear you when you cry at night. I just want you to be happy again. Killian!" He insisted before she could answer anything.

She looked up to see the pirate leaning over the handrail to look at the little boy, seeming deeply worried. "What's wrong, lad?"

"Come quick! I need you!" He answered before she could tell Killian that it was all a trap and that she was going to go away.

She let go of a little whimper of panic when she saw Killian running toward them. She couldn't talk to him, it was just going to hurt them both even more. And she was missing him so much she wanted to cry. But she couldn't let him get close. It wasn't only because she needed to protect herself, but also because she'd realized that she would only hurt him. And she didn't want to read hate in his gaze when he would look at her, instead of the absolute adoration she'd seen in the same blue eyes once upon a time.

Killian had obviously not noticed her yet, as he'd only glanced at Henry in worry. When he arrived next to them, he stopped and took a step back. He seemed surprised and shocked to see her there. She looked down at the snow, not allowing herself to meet his gaze because she was going to cry. She couldn't start sobbing. She had to stay strong.

"Now that you're both here, talk." Her son said. "I'm going to  _my_  room."

He'd insisted on the possessive, as if to make them understand that they had to explain themselves. He walked away with a smirk on his face, looking pretty proud of himself. She couldn't even be mad at him, he'd just wanted her to feel better. But this was only going to worsen things, and she didn't know what to do with herself.

A thick silence settled between them, full of anger and misunderstanding. She stayed knelt on the ground for a while, still looking down. Then she finally got up, running her hands against her dress to get rid of the snowflakes. A deep desire to run away from there was taking its place in her chest. She couldn't fight against that. She wanted to please her son, but she just couldn't.

So she turned and took a step to start running. But against all odds, Killian firmly grabbed her elbow, forcing her to turn back and face him. She finally looked up at his eyes, and was surprised to see everything but hate in it. He just seemed so sad. He seemed exhausted and his eyes were a bit red. He was suffering too. And it hurt her even more than hate would have, because she'd done this to him.

"Emma, wait." He said in a muffled but surprisingly gentle voice.

She felt a sob obstructing her throat and swallowed to make it disappear. She couldn't cry, not now. She couldn't look away from his blue eyes, and she felt the strong need to apologize for everything that she'd done. To kiss him everywhere and caress every inch of his body, so he could maybe forgive her. But nothing wanted to come out of her mouth, and she just stood there, speechless.

"Listen, I don't want to get mad. I would just like to understand what happened. Could you tell me why you pushed me away, all of the sudden? Swan, please..." He added as she was freeing herself from his grip, because the touch of his fingers was too much to bear in that moment.

She stayed silent for a few seconds, not knowing what to do. She wanted to go away, to escape from this situation, but he deserved better than that. Her eyes were still staring at his, she couldn't get away from his beautiful gaze. Her heart was painfully pounding against her ribs at the feeling of his presence. She knew she needed to explain herself. She couldn't bear seeing him so hurt. She should have told him the truth, so she would have been the only one in pain. She knew it was too late to apologize, but she didn't want their story to end like this.

"There's nothing to say." She answered, finally able to look away from him.

"I don't believe that for a second." He corrected gently. "I just want to know. Did I do something wrong? Did I make you suffer without realizing it? Can we fix this, between us? Please, Emma, look at me." He said, and she obeyed because she just couldn't say no to his pleading voice.

"I already told you. Please, don't make me repeat my words." She said, on the edge of crying because she couldn't break his heart all over again.

"Darling, you won't be able to make me angry, not today." He said very softly, and the fact that he'd called her that way made butterflies appear in the pit of her stomach. It meant he didn't hate her, right? "I know those words only were excuses, to make me mad and push me away. If you truly hated me, you wouldn't bring Henry here anymore. You wouldn't still be wearing my necklace." He added, pulling at the ring on her neck.

She didn't try to push him away this time. She cursed him silently for always being so perceptive, because he knew now that she'd lied to him. Maybe it was for the best, maybe she could tell him that she was sorry. She sighed, feeling tears in her eyes. His hand was still resting on her chest and she just wanted to bury herself in his embrace and forget about her pain.

"Swan, I deserve the truth. I'm not asking for much. Everything was going just fine, and then you walked away."

"It wasn't working between us." She shrugged, but her lie didn't sound anything near convincing.

"You know that's not it." He replied, and his hand went up, briefly brushing against her cheekbone before pulling away, and she felt horribly empty when his fingers left her skin. "We were happy."

"You were. I wasn't." Her lies were more and more absurd, but she couldn't help it.

"Come on, love. I just want to know. Please."

"I don't have anything to tell you." She said in a high-pitched voice.

"I don't believe you."

"But I'm telling you the truth!" She cried out, feeling like she was about to cry and not wanting to tell him what was going on, because it would make him feel guilty and she just wanted him to stop suffering. "I don't deserve you, anyway. You're better off without me."

"That's not true, and you know it." He said, looking deeply pained by her words. "How many times have I told you how amazing you are? Just tell me, Swan."

His last words made her want to sob, because he sounded so hurt. So, finally she gave up and said, almost screaming "All right, then! You wanna know the truth? I'm pushing you away because you're going to leave me. I can't let you break my heart!"

The quiet settled between them. He stared at her, looking like he was about to cry, but still standing so strong in front of her. He finally asked, frowning and his hand going right up to run through her tangled locks, and she did nothing to stop him :

"What makes you say that? Did I say anything that could have made you think that I was going to leave?"

He was feeling guilty now, and she just wanted to tell him that it was all her fault, that he shouldn't be mad at himself. "I'm not an idiot, Killian. You're a pirate. Your ship will end up being able to go back at sea. You're going to go, and leave Henry and I behind, because we can't follow you. I know how sad I was when you left us the first time. Seeing you go now if we're together is going to break me. Again."

"Bloody hell, Swan." He said, still holding her. "I'm not going to leave."

"Look." She said in a voice thick with sobs. "I know it's not your fault, okay? I know you care about us, and you don't want to hurt us. But you don't have much of a choice. You're going to leave, like everyone before you."

"No, love, you don't understand." He insisted. "I'm not leaving you."

"You're forced to." She said without understanding, and he answered very gently, looking down at the snow as if he were ashamed.

"I lied to you when I said the Jolly Roger was broken. She's fine."

She frowned, completely confused. She'd guessed that he was lying to her back then, she'd felt it in her guts, but she couldn't understand why. What was he hiding from her ? He dropped his hand from her hair when he saw she wasn't reacting, scratching the back of his ear in embarrassment. This gave her the strong desire to smash her mouth against his for a kiss.

"All right. I didn't want to tell you what really happened, but I don't have a choice anymore. You told me the truth, now it's my turn. I lied to you, because it was easier back then. I fired my entire crew, Swan. I found a new ship for them, to give them another job. Nobody works on the ship, there's just me left. I'm not a pirate anymore."

"What do you mean?" She asked, not understanding a word of what he was saying. "Why would you do that? What happened?"

"Don't you know, Emma?" He sighed, blinking, and his exhaustion hit her like a punch in the face. "I couldn't tell you back then, because it would have scared you. But I was missing my life here, with you and Henry. I knew I couldn't live far away from you for long, I couldn't stand your absence. I did it because I already had feelings for you. I did it to stay with you."

"Wait… You traded your pirate life… For me?" She said in a muffled voice, feeling like the world was disappearing around them to only leave Killian and her, standing there in the snow.

"Aye."

She felt like she couldn't breathe anymore. She'd been so wrong, the all time. She'd made him suffer, because she'd thought he was going to leave. But all of this had been a lie, because he'd left everything, for her. And she'd hurt him in return. Not knowing what to do, only seeing his blue eyes and feeling her heart pounding so fast it could explode, she finally approached him to press her lips against his.

Everything seemed right in the world again as they were kissing, as if they'd always been destined to be together. He kissed her back for a few seconds, his hand going up to run through her hair once again, but he pulled away quite quickly. His eyes were shinning and he'd turned a bit red, but he said, fighting against the lust she could read in his gaze :

"Wait, please. This is too big to be resolved by a kiss and a hug. I want us to talk about this. I want you to understand that I won't leave you, ever. I'm in this for the long haul, Emma. For as long as you wish me to. I need you to trust me."

"I love you." She cut him off, without even thinking about her words.

He froze, blinking in surprise, as she was shivering because of her own statement. But it was simply the truth. She loved him, deeply, and if she'd been too scared to tell him before, the rest of her walls had just crumbled before her eyes, because no one had never done something as beautiful for her before. He'd abandoned everything for her. She finally understood the immensity of her mistake. They belonged together. She knew it, she could feel it. Nothing made sense unless she was with him.

"Excuse me?" He stuttered, wrapping his arms around her waist to hold her, as if to make sure he'd heard correctly.

"I love you." She repeated in a whisper.

Saying these words a second time relaxed her. It seemed so natural. She ran her hand through his dark locks, staring at him. They were now so close she just had to lean to kiss him. The last time she'd said that to someone other than Henry, it'd been to Neal, and it'd ended badly. She'd promised herself not to get attached to anyone again. But with Killian, everything was different. They were meant to be together. She could feel it now.

It's there that the reality of what she'd done hit her like a punch in the stomach. By trying to protect herself, she'd hurt him, badly. She couldn't understand why he was still there, holding her, why he hadn't walked away yet, why he didn't hate her. Tears she'd tried to hold back until then started to roll down her cheeks, and she said, sobbing :

"God, I love you so much. I'm so sorry. I… I thought I was gonna get hurt, and the only thing I found was to push you away. And I hurt you. I didn't want to, I promise. I just… I was wrong. I didn't mean what I told you, at all. You're amazing. And you must hate me, now..."

"Don't say that." He whispered, pulling her closer, and she buried her face in his neck to breathe him in. "Even if I wanted to, I could never hate you. Bloody hell, Emma. I love you, too."

"Even after what I did?" She sobbed as he was stroking her back, trying to comfort her.

"Darling, I fell in love with you the moment I saw you. I know your past. I've accepted it, entirely. I've accepted you, and I understand why you acted that way. I won't give up on you. I promise. I love you so much."

"But… what I said..." She felt like she couldn't breathe, and he held her even closer.

"I know you didn't mean it. I forgive you. I'm all yours, and I never want us to be apart again."

"Me neither." She whispered as he was dropping a kiss to her temple. "I missed you so much. I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing, please. I know you're sorry. And I missed you too, my beautiful lass. So much."

They stayed there, in each others' arms, for a very long time. He rocked her against him until she'd finally calmed down, and he gently wiped her tears away, as if nothing had never happened. Then he leaned forward for a gentle kiss, as if to promise her they would never have to live far from each other again.

She never really understood how they managed to join the captain's quarter without pulling away from each other once, but when she found herself laying above him on his bed, nothing mattered anymore. Feeling his body against hers was all that she wanted, and he whispered to her ear that he loved her again and again, her sighs muffled in his neck and her nails digging into his skin.

It's only much later, as her head was resting against his chest, his hand in hers, that she realized how late it was. The time had seemed to stop, but it'd only been an illusion. Still against him, she whispered :

"Damn it, I'm late for work."

"Tell them that you're sick." He replied, kissing her neck, and it made her chuckle, all pain forgotten as she was laying in his arms.

"I can't, babe. Calvin is going to kill me. But I'll come back right after my shift, I promise."

"I don't want you to go." He said with a little pout as she was finally getting up to go put on her dress.

"I don't want to leave either. Come with me? I just wanna be close to you."

He smiled at her offer, and got up to get dressed as well, leaving thousands of little kisses on her face and neck as she was trying to get out of his room, what made her laugh out loud. They were so happy to be back together. She couldn't believe that everything had changed so fast. The night before, she hadn't slept a bit and had cried until exhaustion. She was now her happiest self, in the arms of the man she loved. And it was all thanks to her wonderful little boy.

She needed to do one last thing before going back to work. She entered Henry's room, and knelt next to his bed to hug him for a long, long time. He understood what was happening right away, and grinned widely. Looking at Killian from above her shoulder, he asked :

"You're back together, right?"

Killian nodded, and Henry let out of a shriek of pure joy. Tears in her eyes, Emma whispered to his ear, so thankful to have this amazing kid in her life :

"Thank you so much, Henry."

Everything seemed to make sense again after that day. A month after that, she found herself moving the last bits of their belongings to the Jolly Roger, without even realizing it. They'd started to spend all their nights on the ship, never wanting to be far away from each other anymore, and liking the intimacy the Jolly Roger provided. It's only when Matt asked her if she still wanted the room, that she realized she'd actually moved in with Killian.

"You're never sleeping here anymore, Emma." He said with a kind smile. "I was wondering if you still wanted the room? If it's not of any use to you, I could offer you a raise. Would you be interested?"

She talked about it with Killian the same night. She wasn't even nervous about the situation. She wasn't scared anymore. He took her in his arms and said with a big smile on his face.

"If you're all right with this, Swan, it'd be an honor to see you move in with me."

"Of course it's all right with me." She replied in his neck. "I love you. We're a family, now."

* * *

"Emma?" he asked her that night, as they were laying in each others' arms.

"Yeah?" She answered, knowing that something important was about to happen.

"Why do you love me?"

"What do you mean?" She asked, a bit worried by his broken voice.

"Why do you love me?" He repeated, and she could hear that his tone was thick with sobs. "Why do you, an angel coming right from heaven, love someone like me, a pirate?"

"You're not a pirate anymore, babe."

"I don't deserve you."

She moved to hold him close to her, and he rested his head on her naked chest to hear her heartbeats. She could feel the fear in his words. He was ashamed, ashamed of his past that she'd thrown at his face during their argument, ashamed of what he'd done in his life. She felt so guilty that she'd made him suffer so much out of fear. But he was different now. He was a hero, her hero, and she loved him so much.

"Don't you dare say that." She ran her fingers through his hair, feeling at his jerky breath that he was on the edge of crying. "You're the most wonderful man I've ever met. I'm sorry, Killian. I'm so sorry for the things I've said during our fight, because they were unfair, and anything but true. You're amazing. You changed my life, you made me the happiest I've ever been. And I love you. You're perfect to me. I love everything about you, your fears, your doubts, your strength, your smiles. I accepted your past, because it made you who you are today. I love you. I love you so much, you wonderful man."

She kept on whispering those three words in his ear, until she was sure he was believing her.

* * *

And that's how her wage had improved a bit, and she'd found herself able to feed her little family more easily. A little routine settled between them. In the morning, Killian would walk with her to the tavern, kissing her lips as a goodbye. He would be back for lunch, and would always be there to greet her at night. During the day, when he wasn't working, he would teach Henry how to sail and tell him about the geography of their world.

They were so close she was feeling like they knew each other forever. They quarreled sometimes, of course. But they would always apologize almost directly after yelling at each other, because being apart was unbearable to them. They were together. And they were happy.

* * *

**Nowadays**

"And here we are, now." Emma whispered, as the sun was slowly starting to rise in the sky, the morning light coming through the window of the room.

"I love you so much, my angel." He said, holding her even closer to his heart.

"I love you too, captain." She answered, pressing a kiss to the skin of his neck.

Unable to resist their shared desire, they made love one last time, before falling asleep, still wrapped in a tight embrace.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy new year everyone! Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the support you've already given me on this story. It really means the world to me ! I'm working on this fiction for a long time, and it has a very special place in my heart. This chapter is introducing the first big change, I hope you will like it!

Emma leaned against the counter, bending her legs a few times to try and relieve the cramps that were making her wince. She sighed, running her hand through her tangled hair, trying to enjoy these few seconds of rest before going back to work. Calvin had just disappeared inside the kitchen for a bit, and she was taking advantage of his absence to take a well-deserved break. But she knew all too well what her boss's son would say, when he would see her standing there. This was just the calm before the storm.

She shrugged. It was definitely worth it, because she was exhausted. She hadn't really slept the night before because of her birthday celebration, and the tavern had just closed. The sky had grown dark hours ago, but she still had a long time before going back to her family. They still had the entire place to tidy up before leaving. Or she had to, because Calvin wasn't going to lift his little finger. He was just going to yell at her because she wasn't fast enough for him. How she despised those days where they were the only one in the tavern.

She was working extra hours again. Her shift was already pretty long, but she'd offered her help to clean the main room after the closing. She needed this money, and she didn't care about her exhaustion. And the tavern had financial problems for a while, now. Matt wanted to hire new waitresses, but didn't have the money to do so, and they were highly understaffed. She was the only one available to close the place.

But she just couldn't ignore the pain going up her limbs anymore, because of the long hours spent at walking between the tables to satisfy the clients. Stretching, she let go of another sigh, of relief this time. Killian was most probably going to offer her a massage when she would be back on the Jolly Roger, and she just couldn't wait. She'd told him to stay on the ship and not to wait up for her that night, because she knew she had to work late, but she also knew him by heart. He would wait for her to fall asleep.

"For the love of God! We don't pay you so you can rest! How many times do I have to tell you this? You really are good for nothing, do you know that?"

Emma just rolled her eyes at Calvin's lovely comment. He'd come back way too soon, but she would just have to go with it. His insults didn't even reach her anymore, she was too used to them, and she simply pulled away from the counter, knowing that her moment of quiet was over. She didn't bother replying to his attack, despite the hundreds of remarks burning her lips. It would just put her in trouble, and he wasn't worth it.

She grabbed the cloth she had used to clean the tables before her little break, ready to go back to work. But as she was moving past Calvin, he took the rag directly from her hands. Looking up, she met his cruel smile and shivered, knowing all too well that something unpleasant was awaiting for her.

"Oh, no. Since you've decided to stop working while I wasn't watching you, like the lazy little bitch you are, you're going to clean the fireplace. Cleaning the tables is even too good for you. And if I see you look up before you've finished, you're going to regret it."

She held back a groan of frustration, and a reply that would have put him in a rage. She managed to calm herself down as she was burning inside, imagining all the names she would be able to call him when she would be back on the Jolly Roger, with her wonderful boyfriend and her amazing son by her side.

She hated Calvin so much for treating her like an animal, but she also knew that she didn't have a choice but to obey him. She needed the money, and she couldn't get in trouble. But cleaning up the fireplace was one of the thing she hated doing the most. She always ended up covered in soot, sore, with bruises on her knees and a pain in her throat. She felt humiliated every single time, and he knew that she hated that task. That was the reason why he liked to make her do it so much.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her anger down. It wouldn't be of any use to get mad. One day, Calvin would regret his behavior. She didn't know how, she didn't know when, but she would show him that he'd been wrong to treat her that way. And she wouldn't have to work all her life there. Killian and herself would end up going away for their dream life, and Calvin would be off her back. She couldn't wait for this day to come, but she had to work to reach it first. And it was all worth it.

She knelt before the fireplace, looking up at it with a groan, and worked for a few minutes that seemed like hours. The ashes were burning her throat, and she was feeling like she couldn't breathe. After a long while spent at trying to stay still, because she knew that if Calvin saw her getting out of the chimney, he would most definitely give her a hard time, she couldn't take it anymore. She sneezed violently because of the dust, the movement hurting her chest. She startled, and hit the back of her head against the edge of the fireplace, letting go of several furious curses.

She placed her hand against her skull, trying to ease the pain. She still had trouble breathing, and didn't think about it while pulling away from the chimney. She could feel her face covered in soot, and just needed a few seconds to calm herself down and try not to choke in that damn place.

Everything crumbled there. If she'd sneezed one minute sooner or later, everything would have been so different. The future that was awaiting for her would probably have been changed forever. It's something she would think about a lot, after that night, when she couldn't find sleep. She would wonder what would have changed if she'd hit herself at a different moment. But at the time, she didn't know that her life was about to take a huge twist.

Trying to ease her painful lungs screaming for oxygen, she turned her head toward the main room. She immediately noticed Calvin's tall figure, focused on doing something behind the counter. She didn't see anything out of the ordinary at first, but frowned quite quickly, a bit puzzled by his behavior. Something strange was definitely happening. He was bending a bit, and was nervously glancing around him, as if he were scared to be seen. He didn't notice her, though, convinced that she wasn't a threat.

She didn't know what to do. To go see what the hell was going on, or to go on with her life like nothing had happened. Her curiosity ended up being stronger than her instinct, and she ignored the little voice at the back of her head, yelling that she should stay out of this entire situation. She got up silently to approach her colleague from behind, careful not to be heard. She had a bad feeling about all of this.

She almost let go of a cry of pure surprise when she realized what Calvin was actually doing. After counting several coins of gold that he'd taken directly from the box where his father kept the tavern's money, he hastily placed them in the pocket of his pants.

This wasn't normal. Nobody had the right to take money from the box aside from Matt. Calvin had never had his father's approval to do such a thing, at least not that she knew of. And she was sure that her boss would have told her, if something had changed in these rules. Everything seemed really wrong, and her feelings were only increased by Calvin's guilty behavior. The tavern had financial problems for months, after all, while it was the most famous establishment of the kind in the village. This couldn't be a coincidence.

Forgetting about her desire to stay invisible, she opened her mouth to talk. Calvin startled when he heard her voice coming from behind him, and placed his hand in his pocket, as if to make sure that he was hiding the money from her eyes. This only made her think that he'd actually just done something bad.

"What are you doing?"

"Emma!" He yelled immediately, as he was turning bright red, but she couldn't tell whether it was because of his anger, his shame of having been busted, or his fear of what could happen next. "I told you not to get out of there before being done! Do you really want to see what I'm capable of?"

"What the hell are you doing with the tavern's gold?" She continued, far from being impressed and just wanting to know what was going on. "You know this money is to buy the food and to pay the employees. It's not for you. Your father takes your own part home."

"This is none of your business!" he said, but he was looking much less convincing than he would have wanted to.

He was avoiding her gaze, and she understood right there that she'd been right all along. He was stealing from his father, and she felt her lips parting as she was standing there, speechless. She knew that Calvin wasn't a good guy, but she would never have imagined that he was capable of hurting his own dad. The tavern was on the edge of bankruptcy because of him, and she couldn't let him get away with this.

"For how long are you stealing in the tavern's finances, tell me?" She asked, jaw clenched in anger, because she couldn't believe him. Matt had always given him everything he wanted, and  _that_  was his way of thanking him?

"How dare you?" He threatened, but she continued, ignoring the rage in his voice.

"You should be ashamed of yourself. This is your fault if the tavern has financial issues!"

"Shut up, you little bitch!"

He was about to keep on insulting her, but closed his mouth when he heard the tavern's door opening. His eyes grew wide, as they both knew that it was Matt coming in, to find them in the middle of this argument. He knew that she was about to expose him, and he got incredibly stiff. But it only lasted for barely a second, and he pulled himself together unbelievably quickly.

So fast that she barely saw him moving, he placed the money back into the wooden box, taking advantage of the fact that his father was still too far away to see what was happening. He wasn't pretending to be innocent anymore, she noticed. He knew that she was aware of his crimes, and didn't find it of any use to lie to her and tell her that she was wrong. He grabbed her elbow then, so hard that it hurt her, and as she was trying to free herself from his painful grip, he whispered in her ear.

"You better shut your mouth, or I swear that I will get you fired."

He let her go as Matt was approaching them, utterly oblivious of what had just occurred. Her arm was aching, and she didn't know what to do anymore. Her heart was pounding so fast it was painful. She knew what she should be doing. She had to tell Matt what was going on behind his back, she couldn't let Calvin keep on like this. The tavern was in danger, and it was all his fault, because he wanted more, always.

But at the same time, her instinct was yelling she had to pretend that everything was fine. She knew that he was capable of manipulating his father to get her fired. He was cruel, clever, and Matt was his dad. Even if her boss liked her, who was he going to believe between one of his employees and his own son? She already knew the answer to this question. He was blinded by the love he had for him, he couldn't see who Calvin really was. And she had to keep her job, she didn't have a choice.

"Emma, you're still here?" Matt asked cheerfully, and she felt her heart tightening in her chest, because his own son was betraying him while he was such a good, kind man. "You should go home, you're working a lot, lately. Go get some rest, you deserve it."

"My family needs the extra money." She mumbled absently, torn apart by contradictory thoughts and not knowing what the hell she was supposed to do.

But her boss seemed to notice right away that something was off with her. She wasn't her usual self, and he knew her for years, after all. He frowned, turning to his son, who offered him an innocent smile. Matt didn't seem convinced and asked, looking a bit worried :

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong!" Calvin answered immediately.

She glanced at him and saw the look he was giving her. His jaw was clenched, making her understand that his threats would become real if she said one thing about the thefts. She blinked, thinking quickly about what to do. He would probably not manage to fire her. Matt liked her very much, she was a hard-working woman, and she'd never lied to her boss. Calvin couldn't turn this situation around, to make her look like the bad guy.

But a little part of her could feel the danger approaching. She knew what Calvin was capable of. He was manipulative, and he would end up getting what he wanted, especially since Matt was his father. In addition to that, she had no evidence of him ever stealing in the box. He'd put the gold back before his father could see anything. It was too much and her heart was about to explode. Whatever she would end up choosing, she already knew that everything in her world was going to change.

The confused look Matt offered her finally made her take a decision. She couldn't let a good man like him suffer because of his son. She ignored her instinct screaming that she should mind her own business because she was going to get in trouble, and she turned to face her boss. Calvin opened his eyes wide, as if to throw her one last threat, but she lifted her chin up to show him that she wasn't scared.

"Matt, I think I know why the tavern is having money problems for a while."

"Excuse me?" Her boss blinked in surprise.

She continued before losing her courage. "Someone's stealing the gold. And I know who it is"

She felt Calvin shivering beside her. He was obviously unbalanced by her behavior, all convinced that he'd been that she wouldn't dare say one thing. She bit the inside of her cheek to hold back a smile. She knew how bad the situation was, how much she was risking by behaving that way, but feeling her boss's son that surprised made her feel good.

Matt frowned and said, shaking his head in disbelief : "Well, tell me, if you know who's doing it!"

"Listen." She started, knowing that this conversation was going to be a difficult one, but she had to do what was right, or she wouldn't be able to live with herself. Stealing was one of the thing she regretted doing the most in her life, but she could have understood it if Calvin had needed the money. But he didn't, he was just a selfish jerk, and the idea of him making Matt suffer was unbearable."I know this is going to be hard to believe, but I know what I saw. I've seen Calvin stealing in the box. He thought that no one was watching, but I'm sure of what happened, or I wouldn't be telling you this."

Matt's eyes opened wide, and he turned to look at his son. He seemed completely unbalanced, as if he didn't know what to believe. But Calvin didn't let his father doubt him any longer. He moved to stand next to him, facing Emma, and said with an innocent frown that made her cringe :

"What are you talking about? Emma, how can you say those things? I know we've never gotten along, but lies won't get you anywhere."

She almost choked out of outrage. In the span of two little seconds, he'd just turned the situation around completely. Matt was ready to listen to her, and Calvin had just made her take the bad guy's part, while she hadn't done anything wrong. Her boss was going to think that she wanted to fire his son, to lie so he would lose his job. She didn't know how to answer to this unexpected twist the conversation had taken. Matt stared at the both of them, Calvin looking suddenly so assured, her being completely speechless, and she understood that she'd lost all chances of her boss ever trusting her.

"Come on, Emma." He finally said seriously. "I don't know what makes you say that, but you're making a mistake, for sure. Calvin would never do something like that."

She knew she should have let go. Matt wasn't going to believe her anyway, and she was risking her job. She'd done the right thing, it was Matt's problem if he didn't trust her. But Calvin's manipulation had put her in a rage. Worse, the cruel smile he was displaying as his father wasn't watching was making her blood boil in her veins. She was feeling like she was about to explode. In a muffled voice, she tried not to start screaming, and said against her strongest instincts.

"I know what happened. I'm not crazy."

"All right, then." Calvin sighed, looking almost bored now that he knew that Emma didn't stand a chance. "Since you're insisting on lying, please, dad, search me. You can see that I have nothing on me."

She didn't have the time to tell Matt that his son had heard him coming, and that he'd had the time to place the gold back where he'd found it. Calvin showed the inside of his pockets with a little shrug, and Emma bit her tongue in order not to scream. She knew that it looked like she was actually lying. She couldn't believe Calvin was going to get away with this.

Matt turned back to her. If he'd tried to understand her accusations earlier, he now seemed more annoyed than anything else. But she didn't know if she could turn back, she didn't know if she could pretend that she'd been wrong. Matt wouldn't trust her anymore if she didn't prove that she was telling the truth, and Calvin was going to mock her for this for the rest of her life. She had to defend herself, to prove that she wasn't a liar.

"He put the gold back in the box when he heard you coming in." She tried to explain, but Matt raised his hand to interrupt her, and she knew at his expression that he wasn't happy with her.

"So you have no evidence of what you're saying, and you want me to believe you?" She saw Calvin winking at her behind his father's back, and she felt absolutely furious. He was so arrogant, she just wanted to put him back in his place.

Calming herself down, she tried to justify herself "I don't, but..."

"Look, Emma." Matt cut her off once again, and she couldn't help but shrink, because she'd never seen him that angry. "I have no idea what's going on in your mind to say such stupid things, but this is bad. It really is. You're insulting my son's integrity, and I won't let you go on like this. The only reason why you're still standing here, and I haven't fired you yet, is because I like you. You're a great waitress, and I don't want to be forced to chase you away."

She shivered at these words, knowing that she was in a very dangerous position. Matt continued, a bit more gently. "But we can still work things out. If you admit your lie, or if you say that you were wrong, because you've never lied to me before and it would be stupid to start now, I promise you we can forget about this. I'm giving you a second chance. We'll never talk about what happened tonight again, and no one needs to know. Understand?"

She looked down at the floor to hide the tears in her eyes. She was going to give up, to say that she'd made a mistake. She couldn't let her family down and lose her job. They needed the money, and she was playing with fire. Her pride was going to suffer from this, but Killian and Henry were more important than anything else.

She opened her mouth to tell Matt that she'd been wrong and that she was sorry, that she'd probably hallucinated what she'd seen because of her exhaustion. She chose to ignore the fact that Calvin was going to make her life a living hell when she would let him win, because she couldn't lose her post. But when she looked up at Matt to start talking, his son began :

"You know, dad, perhaps she has a good reason to say such things. Doesn't it seem weird to you, that she's telling such stupid lies? Maybe she's the one who's stealing the gold. She needs someone to take the blame for her, so you won't doubt her."

Her mouth gaped open in surprise. She hadn't expected that to happen, but she knew she probably should have. Calvin was a master of manipulation. He'd just said, as if it had been completely obvious, that she was a thief. She'd been one, of course, but not anymore. Not since she'd had Henry. She'd wanted to be the best person she could for her little boy, and she'd never lied, never stolen, never done anything wrong.

And she would never have betrayed Matt like that. He'd welcomed her in the tavern, given her a job while she had nothing. Without him, Henry and herself could have frozen or starved to death. She felt a pure rage taking its place in her guts. As if to reflect her anger, the flames of the chandeliers placed all around the room started to falter. She was too mad to realize how strange this was.

Calvin was staring at her with a little smirk that made her so furious she didn't know what she was capable of anymore. He knew that she was going to give up and that he'd won, but he wanted to go further. He wanted to fire her, to humiliate her. And he was about to succeed, if she was referring to Matt's gaze, slowly turning suspicious.

"What?!" She shouted so hard that her voice broke a little. The lights continued to flicker around them. "Do you hear yourself? You can search me too, Matt, you'll see that I don't have anything on me! Do you think that if I was stealing, I would bother working so many extra hours?"

"Well, actually, Emma, these hours could help you with your thefts." Calvin said with a sly smile that made her want to punch a wall. "There's no one here at night, after all. You should as well admit it. I know everything, now. There's a reason why the tavern is on the edge of bankruptcy. And this is all your fault."

"Matt." She started, turning to look at her boss and choosing to ignore Calvin, because it would only make her angrier. "It's all a bit misunderstanding. I've probably dreamed the fact that Calvin was stealing, he's innocent. You're right, he would never do something like that. But I'm innocent too. You trust me, right? You know I wouldn't steal from you!"

"Oh, but dad, we're forgetting something." Calvin answered, taking a step toward her, and she stiffened, knowing that what he was about to say was going to be bad. "She was a thief for a long time. She could have done it again. It really doesn't look good for you, Emma. Who do you think my father is going to believe? His own son, or  _you_? We got out of the streets. We're the only reason why you didn't die, out there. You got yourself knocked up at seventeen, and we saved you, you and your brat. Look at you. You're just an orphan, covered in soot. And that's all you'll ever be."

He'd barely had the time to finish his sentence that her fist crashed against his jaw. She didn't even realize what she was doing, she was too mad because of his insults to think about her actions, and the consequences that would follow. The pain ran up her arm, but she ignored it as Calvin was taking three steps back, letting go of a groan of pain. Her breathing unsteady, her mind blurred by the rage, she only understood how bad the situation was when Matt grabbed her arm to pull her away from his son.

"Okay. That's it, Emma. I want you out of here."

"Wait… Excuse-me?" She stuttered, looking at her boss and refusing to believe what he was telling her.

"I'm not doing this gladly, all right? You're a good waitress, and I know that you have a family to feed. But I can't accept you punching my son under my roof. You know the rules, no violence. This is unacceptable."

"Wait a minute, you're firing me?" She was too mad to understand what it meant, she just wanted to fight back, to defend herself.

"You know that I don't have a choice."

"You don't?" She choked, outraged. "He insulted me, I couldn't let him! Hell, he's treating me like dirt since I started working here!"

"He shouldn't have talked to you like that. But you could have chosen to ignore him. Instead, you chose to answer with your fists, and I can't let that happen." Calvin was smirking at her from behind his father's shoulder, despite the pain still etched on his features and the red tint his skin had taken where her fist had landed.

"Don't you see who he really is? Don't you see that he's manipulating you?" She yelled, finding all of this horribly unfair.

"Enough!" Matt shouted back, and she startled, looking at him with wide eyes. She'd never heard him yelling before, and it was incredibly scary. "I won't change my mind. I want you out. And if you don't get out of here right now, I swear that I'll call the sheriffs. Maybe a few hours in a cell will help you calm down."

The lights were still blinking furiously. Matt was dragging her toward the door, and she screamed : "You're making a big mistake! And you!" She added, pointing at Calvin, who was still smiling at her. "I promise you that one day, you'll regret this!"

"Out!"

Matt's voice was still ringing in her ears as he was throwing her out of the tavern, and he locked the door behind her. She didn't realize right away what all of this meant. The adrenaline was still running through her veins, her blood was boiling, and her jerky breathing was making her dizzy.

Her legs were shaking, and she had to sit against the nearest tree to try and catch her breath. After a while, she became aware of the pain in her right fist, and lifted her hand to look at it. Her knuckles had taken a strange blue color, and she was bleeding. Seeing her wounds, the situation finally made sense in her mind.

She'd ruined everything. Her pride had won, and when Calvin had insulted her, she hadn't been able to control her anger. She was fired. She didn't have a job anymore, the place where she had worked for ten years had just thrown her out. And without money, how would she be able to feed her family? If she'd been alone, things would have been different. She'd survived this before. But she had a family, a little boy who was counting on her. How could she have done such a thing? She felt like she'd let him down, completely, while she should have protected him.

Heartbroken and in pain, she finally started to cry.

Memories of the hell she'd lived as a child came back to her mind, making her sob harder. She didn't want her son to go through the same thing. She didn't want him to know what it was like to starve, to freeze, to be afraid of what was going to happen the next day. She didn't want him to be forced to panhandle. And if they were in this situation now, it was all because of her. She should have been able to control herself. She hated herself so much she wanted to repeatedly bang her head against a wall, until she couldn't feel anything anymore.

She stayed there, crying in the darkness for a long time, not knowing what to do next. Her eyes were hurting and her heart was still pounding so fast it could burst. She could still see the tavern from where she was sitting, but she knew that going inside to apologize wouldn't change a thing. She couldn't redeem herself. Calvin had deserved this punch, that was obvious, but she should have been able to ignore him. What example was she setting for Henry? She felt like a horrible person.

And she couldn't go back to the Jolly Roger either. Killian wasn't supposed to come to the tavern that night, and he would only realize that she wasn't there in the morning. She knew he was going to be worried sick, but she was too ashamed of herself to go join the two most important people in her life. She didn't deserve them. How was she going to tell them that she'd ruined everything? How were they going to survive, now? She felt so lost, and she was sobbing so hard she couldn't breathe anymore.

But through her tears, she ended up seeing a tall figure coming out of the forest and approaching her. She immediately recognized Killian. She guessed that he'd probably waited for her instead of falling asleep, and when she hadn't come back, he'd decided to make sure that everything was all right. But everything had crumbled, and she was feeling like nothing would never be okay anymore.

It didn't take him long to notice her, curled up on the floor. They were so connected, they could have found each other in the middle of a crowd or in the darkest of night. He ran to her then, without even knowing what was going on. He knelt on the floor, stared at her for a second, then wrapped her in a tight embrace.

It's only when she found herself snuggled in his arms, her face buried in the crook of his neck and his scent invading her, that she realized how much she needed his comfort. She held onto him for dear life as he was stroking her back, but he pulled away quite quickly to look at her, leaving his left arm wrapped around her waist, and gently cupping her face.

Despite the darkness surrounding them, she saw at his shinning eyes that her distress was scaring him to death. He inspected her to make sure that she wasn't wounded, and his eyes widened when he noticed the blood on her hand. He gently took her fingers in his, then placed his forehead against hers, so she could feel his comforting touch. He was obviously wondering what the hell was happening, but a simple question left his lips as he knew that she wasn't ready to talk, not yet.

"Are you hurt, love?"

She just shook her head to reassure him, but she was crying too hard to tell him the truth. He didn't push her to say anything, and as he was now sure that she wasn't badly injured, he took her back against him to try and comfort her.

"It's all right, my love, I'm here, I've got you..." He whispered in her ear, rocking her against his chest.

But he couldn't know that, he didn't even know what was happening. God, he was going to hate her, she thought, holding him close as if she were scared that he would disappear. She'd ruined their lives in the span of a second, and she was so afraid of reading disappointment in his eyes when he would learn the truth. She couldn't think clearly because of her distress, and didn't realize that Killian would always support her, no matter what. He was always there, so caring, so perfect, and he was her rock.

She finally calmed down after a long time, and he pressed a kiss to her forehead before asking : "Emma, can you tell me what's wrong?"

"I'm fired." She panted, avoiding his gaze because she didn't want to see his reaction to her statement.

She felt his entire body stiffening against hers, and she let go of a muffled sob. She hated herself so much, and seeing how desperate she was, he took her back against him to calm her down. After a minute, as he was probably not understanding what was going on or why this had happened, he asked very gently, moving a bit to quickly glance at the tavern's door :

"What do you mean? They fired you, without a reason?"

She shook her head again, trying to stop sobbing. He deserved to know the truth. She was so scared, but she also needed to tell him erverything. Taking a deep breath, she pulled away from him, finally meeting his gaze. He seemed confused and worried, and his eyes were still shinning strangely while staring at her. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she started talking. She told him everything. Calvin stealing, Matt not believing her, the insults, the punch. Putting words on the scene made everything seem so real, and it was hurting her even more.

She'd looked down while talking, too afraid of reading disappointment or anger in his gaze instead of the pure love she usually could see. When she got quiet, she looked back up at his face, and what she saw made her heart skip a beat, while tears appeared in her eyes once again. His jaw was clenched, a vein was throbbing on his temple, and he seemed ready for a fight. For a horrible second, she thought that he was hating her. She'd acted like an idiot, and she could understand his anger. In a broken voice, she started :

"I'm so sorry, Killian. I should never have done this, I'm..."

But he didn't give her the time to finish her sentence. All at once, as he'd heard her voice thick with sobs, he'd calmed down all over again. He took her back into his comforting arms, dropping a kiss to the top of her head. "No, darling, please don't apologize. I'm not mad at you. How could I? You have nothing to be sorry for. The only one I'm angry at is Calvin. Don't ever think that I'm mad at you, please. You were right to react that way. Bloody hell, if I'd been there, I don't know what I could have done to him for treating you that way..."

"But… I lost my job." She protested, as if she strongly believed that she deserved to face his anger, but he was just holding her close and she felt so grateful for him. "And now, we… What are we gonna do, Killian?" She started to cry again, and he kissed her temple, trying to reassure her.

"We'll find a way, Emma, I promise. We always do. We have savings. And we'll find something else, we're both going to search for new jobs, okay? We can even take the Jolly Roger and move out of this part of the Enchanted Forest, if we need to. Whatever you wish for, we'll do it. But don't feel guilty, please. These bloody bastards didn't deserve you working for them. You're a much better person than they are."

"But who would want to hire a former thief like me?" She sobbed against his shoulder. "Matt gave me this job because he knew I would die without it. I'll never find another opportunity..."

"Of course you will. And I will too. We'll figure it out, lass. You're a marvel, and I'm proud of you. You only defended yourself. And even if you taught me that violence isn't the way, you were angry, and your reaction is understandable, because Calvin's been treating you like a bloody dog for years. You wanted to tell the truth to your boss, and it's too bad for him if he didn't believe you. You're amazing, don't ever doubt that, all right?"

She nodded slowly, a bit comforted by his words. He was talking with such confidence, she knew that he was being honest, and knowing how much he loved her was making her feel a bit better. She could feel how hard his heart was pounding in his chest, since he was holding her so close. She guessed that he would have wanted to walk inside this tavern that had been her home for years, to yell at Matt and Calvin for what they'd done to her.

But he didn't move. He knew that she needed his arms to feel better, and he held her close, whispering to her ear. "I love you so much, Emma. I'm staying here. Always." She felt so grateful through her sadness, to have found such a wonderful man to spend her life with.

She never really knew how she'd got back to the Jolly Roger. She'd passed out from exhaustion in Killian's arms, still sitting on the damp floor of the forest. He'd probably carried her all the way to the ship, because when she woke up, she was in their bed and the first light of the morning was coming through the window and enlightening the captain's quarter. The pain in her hand was gone, and a bandage was covering her pale skin.

She turned her head to see that Killian was watching over her, looking deeply worried. He had black circles under his eyes, proof that he hadn't slept at all. He was holding her close, and when he saw that she was awake, he pressed a gentle kiss to the crown of her head.

She needed a few seconds to remember what had really happened the night before, and when she did, tears threatened to fall down her cheeks again. It really was over. She wouldn't wake up to go work in this place that had watched her son grow up, that had made her who she was today. She'd raised her little boy there, she'd lived there, and it was all gone. She wouldn't see the regular clients anymore, wouldn't greet Old Sam, wouldn't laugh with Matt. It was all gone, she couldn't go back in time. And damn, it was painful.

When he noticed her sadness, Killian held her even tighter, but she forced herself not to start crying again, swallowing the sobs in her throat. She'd shed too many tears, and it wasn't going to help her. She had to build a new plan, so they would survive. She had to move on, to find a solution, even if it was difficult. Her son needed her, now more than ever.

Her son. He'd grown up in this place, it was the only thing he'd known for so long. It'd been his home for most of his life, and she knew how much the tavern meant to him. How was she going to tell him that she'd ruined everything out of anger? What was he going to think?

"How am I going to tell what happened to Henry?" She said in a broken voice, realizing that her little boy's world was going to crumble.

Killian's fingers stroked her back, and he murmured that everything would be all right, and that she didn't have to worry. After a while, she found the courage to get out of bed, and they walked hands in hands to Henry's room. She wanted to tell everything to her son herself, but feeling Killian's presence by her side was giving her strength. She could do it. She had to.

She knelt next to Henry's bed, caressing his hair to gently wake him up. He immediately understood that something was off, and she started to talk before she had a chance to change her mind. He listened to her carefully, eyes still swollen with sleep, but the frown on his face showed that he was completely awake.

There was a second of thick silence after she'd got quiet, Henry seeming to think about what all of that meant for them. But his reaction wasn't the one she'd expected to face. He finally sat down on his bed, and placed his hand on her shoulder. Still frowning, he said in an assured way that made her blink in surprise.

"You know what, mom? You did good. They treated you like dirt, they don't deserve you. One day, they're going to regret this. I promise."

His words were so similar to Killian's that it made her want to cry, but for an entire different reason. She felt so lucky that her baby boy could look up to this wonderful man as a father and, at that exact moment, everything felt like it was going to be all right.

Henry wrapped his arms around her for a hug, and she suddenly realized how much he'd grown in such little time. He was turning into a wonderful young man already, and she couldn't believe how fast the time had gone. She held him so close to her, and took deep breaths to calm her heartbeats, helped by the presence of her two boys. She already felt better. As long as they were by her side, everything would be okay.

They spent the entire day trying to decide on what to do next. It felt weird, not to go to the tavern, but she tried to put that behind her to focus on her future. They decided to start looking for a new job the next day. After counting the little savings they had, they estimated that, if they were being careful, they could survive for three weeks without earning any money.

Killian took her back against him that night, face in her hair to breathe her in. He repeated in her ear that everything would be all right over and over again, until she was believing him. She fell asleep in his arms, knowing that nothing would never be the same.

Their new life was beginning.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! Here comes to next chapter! This one was a handful and I changed the details countless of times, but I'm finally okay with the results, so I hope you will like it! Thank you again for all the support you're giving me. It really means the world to me that you like this story ! :)

For the next few weeks, Emma and Killian took countless trips in town, seeking for a new post. They were visiting every tavern, every restaurant, every shop they crossed on their way, first in the village, then in the city, searching for a permanent job that seemed nonexistent.

Sure, they'd managed to find small jobs to do here and there, allowing them to survive for a bit longer, since their savings were disappearing insanely fast. They had no idea of what they would do when their gold would be totally gone, and these extra coins they could earn felt like true blessings.

She was working jobs that she'd never done before, but was managing to please her employers every single time. She would bring a letter to a certain place, would help the travelers to set up camps for the night, or would take care of the noblemen's horses. She was working hard and good, as was Killian, but no one seemed willing to give either of them a full time job.

He was a former pirate, and, despite her best efforts, her reputation was following her. The rumor of her fight with Calvin had run through the entire region, and the merchants were all refusing to hire her, suspiciously staring at her like she was some kind of wild beast. Their situation seemed hopeless, and it was making her more desperate with each passing day.

She was still feeling horribly guilty for getting herself fired, for putting her family in danger. But Killian and her son were always there to comfort her with a soft word or a gentle embrace. They would tell her that she'd done nothing wrong, that she'd been right to react that way, and it would always manage to make her feel just a little bit better about herself.

But their gold was disappearing by the minute, it felt like, despite how careful they were being, and she was terrified. She didn't know what would happen to them when they would be left without any money, and unable to find jobs. These thoughts were haunting her at night, and Killian's arms were the only things able to calm her down, as he was murmuring to her ear that everything would be all right.

Five weeks had passed since she'd got fired, and they were still stuck in this horrible situation. They'd sold almost every little thing of value that they owned, aside from Liam's ring and the necklace Killian and Henry had offered her for her birthday. Selling these would have been too painful, since they meant so much to her. The ring was a symbol of the love she shared with Killian, and the necklace represented the family she'd thought she would never have as a kid. They were worth way more than any money could ever buy.

They'd just used their last bit of gold to buy food for a few days, and still, they were absolutely starving. It was not like they had any other way of getting food than buying it, given where they were living. The animals inhabiting the forest had moved out long ago, chased away by the travelers coming from the harbor, and the trees had never carried any fruits.

They'd of course tried to catch a few fishes, taking advantage of the fact that they lived on a ship, but it hadn't worked either. Their net had been too small, since the fishes still living in the sea had tried to escape the activity of the men by diving deeper into the ocean. When they'd tried to take the Jolly Roger a bit further at sea, to make matters worse, a particularly violent gust of wind and the waves that had followed had made them lose their net into the depth of the blue immensity. Building another one was requiring some equipment that they didn't have and couldn't buy. They were left without anything. Their only way of finding something to eat was to get it from the market. And it was getting really hard to do so.

They would always wait for Henry to have eaten all he wanted before taking a small meal themselves, and their hunger was starting to make them suffer. Emma had been used to that kind of treatment as a child, but it didn't make it any easier. The meat they'd shared that night had tasted a bit strange as well, and she hadn't been able to ingest a lot of it. At least, Henry was still eating correctly. Not for long, though, if they couldn't find another job really quickly

They'd talked about leaving the region to go join the Dome, since it was so far away and no one knew them there. They needed to start anew, to find a way to survive. But she had to admit that she was terrified. Even if she'd suffered in this village, it was all that she'd ever known in her life. She'd thought about leaving to live her dream with her family by her side, to visit the world and its marvels, certainly not to flee a desperate situation. She couldn't help but think that this dream was now dead for good. And it was making her so sad, because it was all her fault.

In addition to being afraid of leaving this place, they were both scared that a long journey on the ocean would be fatal for them, given the state they were in. Food for barely a few days was probably not enough to get to the other side of their world. They didn't have any net to catch fish anymore, and they were stuck in this situation. They were already starving, and if one of them got sick, their chances of survival would be very low in the middle of the ocean, without any food left and no possibility of calling for a healer if things turned out badly.

But she also knew that they didn't have a choice but to leave soon. Killian was feeling the same way, she knew it, but he was trying to comfort her the best he could. An idea crossed his mind, that night. She was snuggled in his arms, nauseous and exhausted by the things they had to go through and the lack of food that was making her dizzy. He started to talk, and she looked up to meet his beautiful blue eyes, darkened by how worried and tired he was.

"I think I have an idea, love. I can't believe I haven't thought about this sooner"

"Whatever we do, we can't make things any worse. I'm listening." She said, a small smile on her lips to try and make her words sound softer, but they both knew that she meant it.

"I think we do not have a choice anymore. We have to go join the Dome and try to find new jobs in the villages surrounding it. But to do so, we'll need food, and what we have now isn't enough. Look, I've traveled a lot, you know that. If nothing has changed since I went there, and it was a long time ago, I believe that if we go beyond the city, we can find a bit of food there. Nothing here can help us, but there were a lot of fruits trees about one or two days of walk from here, a few decades ago. It would only be temporary, to be able to make the journey, since we can't live on this forever. But I could go and see if the fruit trees still exist, while you stay here with Henry. There's no point in us going together, especially since we're all exhausted. It will probably take me a couple of days to get there, but we really need to find something. What do you think?"

"Isn't it too risky?" She asked, concerned. "We're both starving. I'm scared of something happening to you."

"I'll be all right. If I can reach the orchards, I'll have plenty of food. And we'll be okay, then."

"I don't want you to go." she whispered, snuggling a bit closer to him, and he wrapped his arms tighter around her.

She was feeling like having him and her son by her side was the only thing keeping her sane, right now. But she also knew that he was probably right. That was their only solution to be able to start over, even if doing so was terrifying.

She felt him smile slightly against her, and he kissed her head, gently stroking her back. "Trust me, lass, I do not wish to go either. But I will be gone for just a few days, and we don't have a choice. I'll try to bring back as much food as possible, so we can get a bit of our strengths back, then we'll take the Jolly Roger to the Dome."

"This does seem like a good plan." She sighed, kissing his collarbone. "But even though I know it's not for a long time, I just don't want to be away from you."

"Me neither, my love. I promise you this."

Despite their exhaustion and their gestures growing slow because of their hunger, they made love twice that night. They wanted to enjoy the other's presence one last time before enduring days of separation, and he managed to make her forget about their situation for a little while. Her eyes locked with his, and as he was making her see stars with his skills, she even believed for a wonderful second that everything would be all right.

* * *

He left at dawn. They'd explained their plan to Henry, as their son had insisted to know everything. He wouldn't accept them hiding things from him anymore, now that he was a bit older. He was showing such maturity while facing the things they had to go through, it was amazing Emma every day. She was so proud of the clever and brave young man he was growing up to be. A survivor, just like his adoptive father.

They were standing on the deck, the coldness of the air making them shiver. Killian was crouching in front of Henry, hugging him for a long time as their son was holding onto him tightly. Killian pressed a kiss on his forehead, then placed his hand on his shoulder, saying with a proud smile :

"You are so brave, lad. Take good care of your mum while I'm gone, okay?"

Henry nodded seriously, and after offering him a wink, Killian got back on his feet. He approached Emma and embraced her for a long, long time. They both didn't want to be parted, even if it was just for a few days, and they were taking into each other's scent and touch, to keep like a treasure while they were apart. He pulled away to press a little kiss on her lips, then one on the tip of her nose, and he stared at her for a while. It was as if he were trying to etch her features into his memory.

"I love you." He whispered, still holding her close.

"I love you, too." She answered, hugging in one more time because she just didn't want to let go. "Please be careful. Come back home to me."

"I promise you on my life that nothing could stop me from coming back to you, my Swan."

She sighed, closing her eyes for a second, then he pulled away for good. He pressed one last kiss on her forehead, turned away, and disappeared into the morning fog surrounding the harbor.

The first day without Killian happened quite peacefully. She spent all her time with Henry, talking and joking with him, always amazed by this incredible and unbreakable bound they were sharing. He even managed to make her forget about their horrible situation for a little while. She just enjoyed her son's presence, because with Killian, he was her entire world.

That night, she tucked him into bed, telling him the story of the lost princess that he loved so much. She couldn't refuse this to him anymore. They were in a very bad position, and this tale was allowing him to dream about a better life. He was thinking about himself as a little prince, living in a castle, surrounded by riches. It could only do him good. He fell asleep with a smile on his face, and she watched him breathe peacefully for a while, marveling at how perfect her little boy was.

But things didn't go as planned. The next day, when Emma went to wake Henry up, he looked exhausted and complained about a very bad stomach ache. When she placed her hand against his forehead, she realized with a frown that he was running a bit of a fever. The words  _food poisoning_  were already ringing in her ears, and her chest tightened in fear.

She didn't want to start panicking, but she knew that they didn't have the means to fight a sickness, even if it wasn't a very bad one. They couldn't pay for a healer and they didn't have much food left that Henry could eat while being sick. She quickly went to the well to retrieve as much water as she could, and made him drink a lot, to try and make his fever disappear.

"I don't feel very good..." He mumbled in the afternoon, as he was laying in his bed, too weak to stay on his feet.

He barely had the time to jump out of bed and reach the deck to throw up from above the handrail. She thought her heart was going to stop as she was rubbing his back to comfort him, so scared of what would happen if he didn't get better quickly. Her son was only rarely sick, and it was the worst time to get food poisoning, but she convinced herself that she would manage. She wasn't going to let him down.

That night, she took the little food she could use to cook him a bowl of soup, knowing that it was the only thing his stomach could bear right now, and hoping it would give him some strength back. She only had enough to make him this kind of food a couple of times, and she prayed to every gods she could think of so he would get all better soon. She would never forgive herself if something happened to her son, all because she'd got fired.

She spent the night by his side, forgetting to eat herself and refusing to sleep to make sure that he was going to be okay. But he slept peacefully until the morning light came to tickle his eyelids, and when he opened his eyes, he was smiling. Placing her hand on his forehead, she noticed with a sigh of pure relief that his fever was gone, and that he seemed like his usual self again.

"How are you feeling, kid?" She asked, wanting to make sure that he was really fine.

"Great! I think the soup helped me a lot." He said with a wide grin, looking so happy to feel better.

"Well, you're going to eat some more this morning, okay? You need your strengths back. But it's going to be all right, now."

He just nodded at her and she felt like she could start bouncing up and down from relief. She was right. Everything was going to be just fine.

Except that their moment of quiet didn't last for very long. As she'd given the last bowl of soup to her son, and as they only had chicken, fruits and bread to live on for the next few days, she felt like something was wrong her. She tried to ignore the pain in her stomach and the sweat on her forehead for the first few hours, telling herself that if she pretended that it wasn't there, it would eventually disappear, but it didn't work. As she was trying to look all right for Henry, she had to run to the deck to throw up her breakfast with the feeling that she was going to pass out.

"Mom, you okay?" Henry cried out as she was sitting down on the deck, her legs shaking too much to be able to support her weight.

She was still trying to catch her breath and her throat was burning awfully, but she managed to smile slightly as an answer to her son. The last thing she wanted was to worry him in addition to everything. She would be all right, Henry had gotten better in a day. It was just a difficult time to get through.

"Yeah, kid. Don't worry. It just seems like I've got food poisoning too, after all. Remind us to never go get meat in that place again." She thought about Killian, wondering if he'd got sick too, since it was the last meal they'd shared together. But he was probably fine, she realized. Years on the sea and all the dangers he'd had to face in his life had shaped him, and his body seemed made out of steel.

"Do you need anything? Do you want me to make you some soup too?" Henry asked kindly, and his thoughtfulness made her feel all better for a second. She really had raised a wonderful little boy.

"There's no soup left, but I'm sure I'll be okay. I've gone through worst, haven't I?"

She was trying to seem strong and healthy for her son, but she was far from being that sure of what she was saying. She had enough experience in these kind of sicknesses, since years in the streets had made her get through this pretty often, and she knew that her body wouldn't accept anything solid for at least another day. So, as she was still feeling horribly nauseous, she made sure to drink tons of water and didn't try to eat any kind of food, hoping that, as Henry, she would get better soon.

But when she woke up the next day, she was feeling even worse. She knew that she needed something nutritious and not just water, her stomach was horribly painful, and her fever seemed higher than it'd been the day before. Not wanting to worry her son, she pretended that she was feeling better, but he didn't seem to really believe her and just handed her a glass of water while biting is bottom lip in worry.

Knowing that she didn't have a choice or she would end up fainting, she tried to eat a piece of bread, aware that she wouldn't get far without at least trying to ingest something. To give herself some strengths back, she repeated in her head over and over again that Killian would end up coming back with some food, and that she was going to be okay. She just had to get through this day, and with a bit of luck, her boyfriend would be there soon. She just needed to stay strong.

She threw up her meal once again, trying to hide it from Henry, but he was too smart to believe her. He gently led her to her bed, making her lay down and looking horribly worried. She was aware that she was in a very bad position. She had already been starving before, and she was only getting worse. She didn't know for how much longer she could carry on that way. She needed food to get better, but they didn't have anything that she could eat without aggravating things right now.

She really was starting to panic, now. She had no way of getting better, and they couldn't ask for anyone's help. Her little boy needed her, she had to be there for him, and yet she was too sick to do so. Feeling her chest tightening at these thoughts, she still smiled at Henry to reassure him :

"Don't look at me like that, kid. Killian will be back tomorrow, or the day after that. I'll be okay."

"Do you want anything?" He said in a voice tensed by his concern. "Can I help you in any way?"

"I think I just need to sleep. I promise you everything will soon be okay."

She fell asleep almost immediately after saying those words, exhausted by her fever and the state she was in. She could still feel Henry beside her during the night, but she wasn't sure if it was real or if she was starting to get delusional.

The night didn't give her the rest she was hoping for. She was getting awakened by feverish nightmares every once and a while, her forehead covered with cold sweat. In the dark, her vision was too blurred for her to see if Henry was there or not. She didn't have the strength to ask him a question or to even think about what was happening. She was too sick to even feel scared, and was feeling like she would never be able to get out of that bed.

In her dreams, she was a thief all over again, stealing food to survive. But she was getting caught or blamed every single time, and when she woke up, the only thing she could think of was that she didn't want to relive that part of her life, she didn't want to steal again. She'd been locked in a cell for it the last time, and she just wanted her little boy to be proud of her. Her past was catching up with her as she was at her worst, and she didn't even know if it was tears that she was feeling on her cheeks, or if she was simply imagining it.

The next morning, she was feeling sicker than ever. But she'd eventually managed to get a few hours of sleep, and she was finally able to think more clearly. She noticed that Henry was there, and that she hadn't imagined his presence after all. He was laying beside her on the bed, as he'd probably not wanted to leave her alone. He opened his eyes when he felt her move, and immediately reached for the glass of water laying on the floor next to the bed.

"How are you feeling, mom?" He asked, turning to look at her.

She sat down to take the glass, whispering a thank you to Henry. Her stomach was making her want to yell in pain, but she knew that she needed water. "I'll be fine, kid." She said in a low voice, because she couldn't even manage to speak louder. "Killian's coming back soon."

She'd barely finished her sentence that they heard steps ringing on the deck above them. Neither of them got scared, recognizing Killian's footsteps, and her son smiled widely and jumped out of the bed. As he was running to go join his father, Emma leaned against the wall next to her. She was so glad that Killian was finally back. He would probably be able to fix their situation with the food that he'd found, and she'd missed him like crazy. She couldn't wait to hold him in her arms again.

"Killian, you're back!"

She could hear her son's enthusiastic voice, and Killian chuckled, probably getting attacked by one of Henry's famous hugs. "Hey, lad. I've missed you."

She would have wanted to go join her family more than anything, so happy to know that her boyfriend was there and that things would be okay again, but she didn't feel good enough to do so. She wanted to be able to properly greet Killian before telling him what was going on with her. She didn't want him to worry too much, and knew that, thanks to him, things would get better soon anyway. She was going to get all better, and then they would leave to start anew. She just couldn't wait.

"I've missed you too!" Henry answered cheerfully. "Did you find any food?"

"I did, I found a few fruits that we can take with us to go join the Dome." Killian stated. "But I'm going to talk about that with your mum. The good news is we'll be able to eat correctly tonight. And how are you, lad?"

"I've got food poisoning, but I'm fine now. Mom helped me to get all better."

"Food poisoning?" Killian repeated, sounding a bit worried. "I knew this meat tasted a bit strange. I'm glad that you're all right now, lad. Where is Emma?"

"She's still in bed." Henry said, his voice turning serious. "She's got food poisoning too, and she's pretty sick. I stayed with her all night to make sure that she was all right."

Killian's voice was tensed when he started to talk again. "Bloody hell. Thank you, Henry. You're such a wonderful boy, to have taken care of her. Now that I'm back, everything is going to be okay, I promise."

Emma heard them approaching the captain's quarter then, and she forced herself to pull away from the wall and sit on the edge of the bed, trying not to look as bad as she felt. She immediately started to feel dizzy, but seeing Killian's blurry figure getting closer to her gave her the strength that she needed. She met his beautiful blue eyes, a bit darkened by his concern, and she smiled slightly, getting up to lurch toward him and take him against her. His strong arms and familiar scent made her feel all better instantly.

"I've missed you so much." She whispered in his neck, as he was holding her so close.

"Gods, I've missed you too, love. Let me look at you. Oh, Swan." He added, pulling away to cup her cheek. "You're so pale."

"I'll be fine." She shrugged to try and reassure him, knowing that everything would be okay now that he was here, and wrapping her arms back around him, because she'd missed him like crazy, but also because she didn't feel able to stay on her feet without his support. "I feel like you've been gone for weeks, and not just for a few days."

"I know, darling. It felt like centuries for me, as well. But I brought some food back from the orchards. It did take a bit longer than I had expected, though. There were a few villages I didn't know around there, and while I was at it, I decided to try and visit these places, to see if anyone was ready to hire one of us. I wanted to explore every possibility before leaving to join the Dome."

"And?" Emma said, a bit surprised by this statement, but mostly curious to know what had happened. "Did you find anything?"

"I didn't. I visited a couple of town, but my reputation has apparently preceded me once more." He sighed, and the shame she could read in his eyes made her want to kiss him until he finally believed that he was a good man.

She just wanted him to feel good about himself. Despite how sick she was, at that exact moment, the only thing that mattered was that he could see himself as the amazing man he was. He wanted to be the best version of himself for her and Henry, and he really was. He was perfect to her. And he was ashamed of what he'd done in his past. Sure, he'd made mistakes, but she'd made some too, and she was accepting every part of him, because she loved everything about him. He was doing the same thing with her, and she so wished that he could see himself as the wonderful man, partner and father that he really was.

"Hey, it's okay. Killian, you're amazing. It's too bad for them if they can't see that." She whispered to his ear, and he just held her tight for a few seconds, as if to thank her for her words. "And what about my reputation?" She continued then, as he was gently stroking her back.

"You know what rumors can do." He said softly.

"They heard what I've done." She guessed as she was feeling tears appearing in her eyes. She was so scared that, even on the other side of the world, no one would want to hire her because of her actions.

"Don't you worry, lass. We'll figure it out. It's probably better that way, because if we'd gotten a job there, we wouldn't have been able to sleep on the Jolly Roger anymore, since the villages were too far from the harbor. We'll just have to cross the ocean, and get to the Dome. No one knows us there. We'll be safe, and we'll start anew. What do you think?"

She nodded slowly, knowing that he was absolutely right about that, and feeling a bit reassured. Perhaps they could be totally happy again, perhaps a new life, a wonderful one, was awaiting for them out there.

As she was about to answer that she agreed and that they should move the ship as soon as possible, black spots started to invade her already blurry vision. She felt very strange all at once, and thought that she was going to be sick again. She winced, placing a hand against her stomach. Killian immediately noticed that something was very wrong, because he grabbed her waist and said in a voice that seemed a bit distorted in her ears :

"Emma? Are you all right?"

She tried to talk to reassure him, she just didn't want him to be scared, but she felt like her fever had gotten even worse and everything was spinning around the cabin. The black spots assembled to become whole, and she couldn't see anything anymore. She heard Killian calling her name over and over again, but she just couldn't answer him.

She felt the floor disappearing under her feet, and strong arms caught her before she touched the ground as she was losing consciousness. The last thing she heard was her son and her boyfriend's screams, begging her to stay with them. She really would have wanted to. But nothing was making sense anymore.

* * *

"Emma? Darling, can you hear me? Swan, come back to us, please..."

Killian's pleading voice slowly made her come back to reality. She could feel his fingers squeezing her hand, and could hear Henry's fast breathing next to her. She was feeling like she was burning from the inside, and her stomach was hurting so much she wanted to fall back into the black hole that had swallowed her before. But she opened her eyes anyway, because she could feel her boys worrying, and she would have done anything to make them feel better.

She was laying on her bed, and guessed that Killian had carried her there after she'd fallen unconscious in his arms. Her boyfriend and her son were next to her, Killian sitting on the bed, Henry kneeling on the floor, and she saw their expression of pure relief when they noticed that she was awake. Killian tried to smile, but she could see how scared he was when it didn't reach his eyes. In a muffled voice, he said :

"Bloody hell, Emma, we were so worried. You stayed unconscious for a while. How are you feeling?"

She wanted to sit down and face them, but she was too sick to do so. She could already feel her eyes closing on their own again. God, she was so tired. She couldn't stay awake or think clearly anymore, everything seemed distorted around her. She could still sense how high her fever was, though, and if she'd been in a better state, she would have understood that it was slowly becoming dangerous. Through the fog that had invaded her mind, she felt happy to have fainted now that her boyfriend was back, and not while she'd been all alone with Henry. But she was so exhausted, and it would be so easy to fall back asleep…

Killian shook her shoulder, seeing that she was on the edge of passing out again. The concern she read in his gaze gave her the strength to keep her eyes open, because she just didn't want to hurt him. "No, Swan, please stay with me. I'll fix this, I promise, but you have to stay awake."

She nodded and managed to mumble under her breath. "It's my fever, Killian."

He placed his hand on her forehead when he heard what she was saying, and cried out "You're burning up!"

"The soup you cooked helped me when I was sick, maybe that's what you need too." Henry said, as if he were trying to find a miracle solution to her sickness.

"If I'd known..." Killian said in a broken voice that made her want to cry. "I only have fruits with me, and it's nothing that you can eat right now."

"Don't apologize, babe." She whispered. "It's no one's fault. I tried to eat yesterday, but it only made things worse..."

"I'll go get you something." He decided then, as she was still trying to fight against the urge to fall back asleep. "I'll find food that you can eat. I'll go to the apothecary and get you something there, as well. I'm sure he has something that can help you. You'll be okay."

"Killian, we don't have any money left." Her head fell on its side, as she was unable to keep it straight anymore.

"I don't bloody care, Swan! I just want you to be safe, okay?"

He'd yelled, and Henry startled, surprised to hear Killian use that tone of voice. But she understood his reaction, knowing it wasn't coming from anger, but from worry. She blinked, and Killian's eyes opened wide, as if his own actions were shocking him a bit. Very gently, he leaned to press his lips against her burning forehead, and said :

"I apologize, my love. I'm just afraid of something happening to you. But I will find a solution, I promise. I won't let you down. Henry." He added, turning to face their son, who was looking at the two of them with tears in his eyes. "I have something for you."

She rolled on her side, feeling her stomach painfully contracting once again, and tried to stay awake to understand what Killian had in mind. He led their son to the corner of the room, opened a drawer, and grabbed something that she couldn't see right away, her vision too blurred by the fever. She frowned when she finally managed to distinguish the object : it was a huge seashell, that Henry carefully took against him. Killian placed a necklace around his own neck, and explained as fast as he could :

"You see this seashell, lad? If you speak into it, I'll be able to hear you thanks to this replica that I'll take with me. If anything happens, Henry, anything at all, I need you to promise me that you'll call me. It's important."

"I promise." Their son nodded seriously.

She'd fought for too long, and she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore. She could feel herself falling back into a feverish sleep, but just before diving into the black hole awaiting for her, she was able to see Killian approaching her again. He placed something cold on her forehead, probably a wet cloth to try and reduce her fever. Then he kissed the top of her head, and whispered in a voice thick with sobs :

"I love you. Please hang in there."

She wanted to answer that she loved him too, but she passed out before getting the chance to say anything.

* * *

When she opened her eyes again, she was unable to say how much time had passed since Killian had left. She wasn't feeling any better, and everything was still spinning around her. Her fever seemed even worse, and she wondered if it would ever stop increasing. She was scared, not understanding how things had turned so bad, while it'd simply started with food poisoning. But she'd been starving before that, her body had only grown weaker because of the sickness, and she didn't have the means to beat the fever anymore.

But she seemed to come back to life for a little while when she noticed Henry, snuggled against her in the bed. She blinked a few times, trying to see more clearly. Her stomach was still hurting so badly and she wanted to go back to sleep, but when she felt that her baby boy was crying, nothing about her state mattered anymore.

"Oh, Henry." She said, wrapping her arms around him, and he sighed when he noticed that she was awake, burying his face in her neck. "I'll be okay, don't cry. Killian is coming back soon, and things will be just fine."

"But it's my fault if you're so sick, mom!" He sobbed.

"What do you mean?" She asked, alarmed by his words. "Henry, what makes you say that? It's not your fault! It's nobody's fault if I got sick."

"I promised Killian that I would take care of you, and I failed. I failed you. Now, you're sick because I couldn't make you feel better. It's all my fault."

"Henry, don't ever think like that, please." She felt tears in her eyes, because she couldn't stand to see her son so sad. "I'm your mom, and it's my job to make sure that you're okay, not the opposite. Your only job is to be a little boy. You've done nothing wrong. No one is to blame here, you understand? It's just bad luck. I don't want you to feel guilty, kid, do you hear me?"

He nodded slowly at her words, and seemed to calm down just a little bit. Her heart was breaking, and she held him close for a while, running her fingers through his hair to comfort him and show him that she was there. But way too soon, she felt her eyes starting to slowly close again. She knew that she was unable to stay awake for much longer, and she started to talk in a whisper.

"I love you so much, kid."

She was aware of what was going to happen, she knew that she was about to fall asleep or to pass out for good, and she didn't want to worry her son even more. She just wanted him to be happy. Her heart was pounding so fast in her chest because of the fever it was actually terrifying, but she managed to talk in a calm and assured voice so her baby boy wouldn't get hurt :

"Listen, Henry, I know I'm going to fall back asleep soon. I'm sure I'll be okay, but if in an hour Killian isn't back and you can't wake me up for some reason, I want you to call him. I don't want you to worry too much, and he'll know what to do to make me feel better. I love you, kiddo. I promise you I'll be okay. It's just a difficult time to get through, all right? I'll stay right here with you, no matter what.

"All right." He said in a small voice, still snuggled in her arms. "I love you too, mom."

Reassured by the fact that he seemed to feel a bit better, she finally allowed herself to close her eyes. She only needed to rest for a little bit. Things would be okay.

* * *

She understood that something was wrong the first time Henry called her name. She could hear him clearly, even if his voice sounded a bit strange, and felt him shaking her shoulder, but she was unable to move. She couldn't do anything else than listening. Her body was feeling so heavy, her heart was pounding incredibly fast, and she found herself forced to stay completely still.

This was a very strange sensation. She could think, somehow, but her body couldn't answer anymore. She was able to hear the noises of the waves crashing against the ship, and felt her son's grip on her shoulder tightening a bit. She could even imagine the scene in her head without seeing it. But she stayed there, unable to talk, unable to do anything. It was horribly scary, and she wondered how this was even possible. Was her fever so high that she couldn't function anymore? Or was it only the exhaustion catching up with her?

What was worrying her the most was Henry's pleading voice asking her to wake up over and over again. She really would have wanted to, and it was so strange to feel that close and yet that far from him, but she couldn't even move her little finger. Her son, as she'd asked him to, ended up calling Killian thanks to the seashell he'd given him, and her boyfriend was back on the ship in a matter of minutes. Or perhaps it'd actually been hours, but she couldn't tell anymore. Maybe she was dreaming, after all, maybe it was all a product of her imagination. Maybe their voices ringing next to her as she was laying there, motionless, weren't real.

"She still hasn't woken up?" Killian asked in a shaky voice.

"I tried to call her, but she didn't react."

Henry's voice broke down, and she could guess that he was crying. She still couldn't do anything, while she would have wanted to take him in her arms and promise him that everything would be okay. She chose right there to believe that it was all a dream. It was too odd, but mostly too painful to hear the two people she loved the most crying because of her. This wasn't real, she thought, she just had to hope that she would wake up soon.

In this dream, Killian probably took Henry in his arms, because their son calmed down after a little while. She could perfectly imagine her boyfriend comforting their little boy, promising him that everything was going to be just fine. He was so good to him, and if she'd been able to, she would have smiled, because she couldn't believe that she was lucky enough to share her life with this wonderful, perfect man.

"Hey lad, it's going to be all right, I promise. Your mum is a fighter, you know that, don't you? I found some vegetables to make soup, and I went to the apothecary to get her a mix of plants that can help her with her fever and nausea. She'll be fine." He stopped talking for a few seconds, probably waiting for Henry to have calmed down a bit. "Can you bring the food to the deck while I'm waking her up, please?" He added very gently. "I'll start cooking, and Emma will feel all better very soon."

He'd probably asked this to Henry so he could be alone with her for a little while. Killian knew that he would start crying if she still wasn't waking up, and he didn't want to do that in front of their son. God, he was so brave, even in her dreams. She was so relieved to have understood that it wasn't real, now, because she would never have wanted for them to worry so hard because of her

She felt a strong hand grabbing her shoulder as she could hear Henry's footsteps leaving the room. Killian shook her gently, then a bit more vigorously, and called her name in a pleading voice that made her want to cry. He pressed his hand against her forehead, and she heard a gasp of pure fear escaping his lips. She got a bit unbalanced by this gesture for a second. If it really was a dream, then how could she feel the coldness of his hand against her burning skin so vividly?

He called her again and again, and she suddenly wanted to start sobbing. What if she'd been wrong, after all? What if all of this was real and she was unable to move for some reason? Killian grabbed her hand, interlacing his fingers with hers, and she chose to ignore the feeling that she wasn't dreaming. She was going to wake up from this nightmare. This was just her fever making her hear things that weren't there.

"Killian? Is mom awake?"

Their son got quiet when he noticed that she was still unconscious. Killian suddenly let go of her hand, and she felt so empty for a second not to sense him close to her anymore. But she could guess that he wanted to pull himself together to seem okay in front of Henry. He really was the best father her son could have wished for, she thought. In a gentle and soothing voice, even if she could hear the sobs stuck in his throat, he said :

"I'm sure that she's all right, lad. Listen, I'll go prepare her something to eat for when she's going to wake up. I would like for you to stay with her, can you do that? She needs to feel us by her side, right now."

"Of course." Henry answered in a broken voice. "Killian, I'm… I'm scared." It made her want to sob with him, but she couldn't do a thing, and she just kept on listening.

"She'll be okay, Henry, I know it." Killian answered and, somehow, she guessed that he'd wrapped their son into a comforting embrace once again. "I'll be right back. Call me if anything happens."

As Killian was quickly walking away, Henry slowly approached her. He curled up next to her on the bed, and she could hear that he was crying. It all felt so real, and she was so afraid. She so wanted to be able to move to take him against her and assure him that she was all right, but she just couldn't. So she stayed there, eyes closed and only her ears functioning, wondering what was going to happen now that she was almost sure that it wasn't a nightmare, but the frightening truth.

Killian ended up coming back, minutes, hours or maybe days later, she didn't know anymore. He tried to make her take the mix of plants found at the apothecary, but didn't manage to do so since she was unconscious. She wanted to cry without being able to. She couldn't believe that all of this was happening because of a piece of meat, it was so stupid. She was frightened by how fast things had escalated.

Killian ended up understanding that trying to give her the plants while she was in that state was utterly useless. He sat down next to the bed then, and she could imagine Henry sitting on his lap, face buried in his neck to seek comfort. They stayed there, still, quiet, waiting for something to happen. It was all that was left to do, even Emma knew it.

She'd lost all notion of time and space, and didn't know for how long they stayed there in silence. No matter how much she tried to move, she felt stuck in her own body, her mind the only thing left alive, and she wasn't able to tell the people she loved that she was still there, that she was fighting, for them. Her heart was still pounding so hard it could explode. She ended up guessing that Henry had fallen asleep, exhausted by all those tears, because his breathing had grown more peaceful. A few seconds later, she felt Killian's hand moving to find hers once again, and his broken voice rang into the quiet of the room.

"Swan, please, if you can hear me, wake up. I don't know what's happening, and I don't know what to do anymore. We don't have any money to pay for a healer, your fever is very high, and I'm scared. I'm so scared, love. I don't want to show it to the lad, but I can't lose you. You're my whole world, and I..." His voice broke and he swallowed, and she just wanted to tell him that everything would be okay, because hearing him so sad was horrible. "I know you're a fighter. You can get through this, I believe in you. We need you here, darling. So please hang in there. I love you, Emma, I love you so much. Please come back to us."

His pleading voice made something shift in her. She wished to come back to life so hard, because she couldn't stand to hear him so worried, that, somehow, it worked. She fought for a while to reach reality again, but Killian's hand still holding hers gave her the strength she needed. And, after what seemed like an eternity, she managed to weakly squeeze his fingers to show him that she was there.

"Emma?"

She opened her eyes when she heard her name, finally. Every inch of her body was aching, and the captain's quarter was pitch black, but Killian's eyes were shinning strangely into the darkness. When she turned her head to look at him more easily, slowly because it seemed like her neck was weighting a tonne, he just shook his head in disbelief.

"You're back." He whispered, and his hand got up to run through her tangled hair.

She even managed to offer him a slight smile. Everything was still so blurry, but she could see the tears rolling down his cheeks, now. Alerted by Killian's words, Henry woke up as well, and he blinked a few times before saying in a little voice : "Mom?"

"I told you I would be okay." She said in a husky voice, and her son let go of a little sigh of relief, wiping off the tears that were wetting his cheeks.

"All right." Killian stuttered then, seeming to realize what this meant and knowing that they needed to take care of the situation as fast as possible. "I have a mix of plants with me, that should help with your nausea and your fever. Then you'll try to eat something, okay, love?"

She nodded slowly, and fought against herself in order to stay awake, because she knew that she didn't have a choice. Very gently, Killian helped her to sit down on the bed, and she winced slightly because of the pain in her stomach. But it was going to be all right, now. She wasn't going to let them down.

She took the mixture of plants right away, and somehow, in barely a few minutes, she already started to feel a bit better. Her stomach wasn't hurting anymore, and keeping her eyes open seemed easier. Killian briefly went to the deck to warm up the soup, and when he came back, she knew that she would finally be able to eat something that wouldn't make her sick. Seeing the worried expressions her boys were displaying, she realized that they had avoided the worst. But she could feel that she was going to get through this. They were together, and that was all that mattered.

She laid back down after a while, still sore and exhausted, but not scared to fall asleep anymore. Killian and Henry both came to join her in the little bed, not willing to leave her after what they'd gone through. As their son had finally found a peaceful sleep, Killian ran his fingers through her hair again, and said in a very low voice.

"You really scared us today, darling."

"I'm sorry." She whispered, but he gently cut her off by pressing his lips against her forehead.

"Don't apologize, it wasn't your fault. I'm just happy that you're all right, now. Take some rest, I'll stay here. Always."

She fell asleep with a small smile on her face.

* * *

"Promise me that you'll never scare me like that again."

She snuggled a bit closer to Killian when he whispered those words in the quiet of the room. She sighed slightly, running her fingers through his dark locks to comfort him. His voice had woken her up from the half sleep she was in, but she didn't even think about complaining. She knew how scared he'd been of losing her, and now that she was beside him, he just never wanted to let her go.

The sun was already high in the sky, but her night hadn't been very relaxing, and she was exhausted. Her body was slowly recovering, and Killian was taking such good care of her. He'd woken her up every couple of hours to make her take the mixture coming from the apothecary, and so she could eat a little bit. Her stomach wasn't hurting anymore, and if she was still a bit sore, she'd finally been able to get out of bed in the morning.

They were now both sitting on a chair in the captain's quarter, watching Henry sleep peacefully. The little boy had been so upset to see his mom sick, and now that he was finally sleeping, they'd decided to let him rest for as long as he wanted to. She was sitting on Killian's lap, her arms wrapped around his shoulders and her face buried in his neck. He was holding her so close she could feel his heartbeats. He hadn't let go of her since she'd woken up, and sensing him close was making her feel good. She was finally okay.

"I promise I'll try." She answered with a small smile as he was pressing his lips against her temple.

"Good, because I can't lose you. Henry and you are my everything, and if I ever lost one of you… I don't know what would happen to me."

"Hey..." She gently cut him off, as she could see the pain of a past punctuated by countless of losses etched in his blue eyes. "You won't lose any of us. I'm staying here, with you, nothing can stop that. I fought for the two of you last night. Because I love you."

"I love you, too, Swan. I'm sorry this happened to you."

"I'm fine now, Killian. And now that we have some food with us, we'll be able to go join the Dome. We'll be okay."

She felt his heart fastening a bit at her statement, and knew what was happening in his mind. Still, she waited a bit before asking him the question that was burning her lips since she'd woken up. She just watched their son sleeping in their bed for a couple of minutes, waiting for his heartbeats to have slowed down a bit.

"Killian..." She finally started, in a very soft voice. "You've stolen to get this mix of plants and the vegetables, haven't you?"

He got stiff against her, and she already knew the answer to her question. She had guessed it long ago, if she was being honest, and she wasn't blaming him at all. She'd had nightmares about becoming a thief again, and she didn't want to go back to that, but they hadn't had a choice. She could have died there, and Killian had made the decision to save her. She could feel at the way he was grabbing her waist that he was scared she was disappointed in him. Because she'd stolen before, and it'd all ended very badly for her. Because Calvin had said that she was nothing more than a criminal, and she was proving him right by stealing again. But she wasn't mad at Killian, on the contrary. He'd just wanted her to get better.

"It's okay, sweetie. It wasn't a blame. I get it, you know, you didn't have a choice."

"I would have wanted to find another solution." He sighed, and she noticed all at once how exhausted he looked. "I tried to, but you were so sick and I was scared to lose you. The fruits I brought back from my trip would only have made things worse, and I had to find something. I'm so scared that I've disappointed you, and that I'll disappoint Henry too. But between that and keeping you both alive, my choice is made."

"You'll never disappoint me, you wonderful man. And our kid knows that you saved my life. He's looking up to you, and I'm glad, because he has the best example he could wish for. We'll be okay, babe." She added, gently kissing his neck as he was sighing against her because of her gentle words. "We'll find a way to cross this ocean, and to start over near the Dome. No one knows us there. We'll finally find a home. I promise."

He smiled at her, finally reassured, and leaned to press a long kiss on her lips. As long as they were all together, they would be all right. She knew it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go ! I really hope that you liked it ! The next chapter will happen in the same area once again, but I can already tell you that the family will leave for the Dome sooner or later, and learn a lot more about the Dark Curse. See you next time! :)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! First of all, once again, thank you for all the support, I love reading your comments each time, they give me life! Then, I have a few things to say concerning the story before we begin.
> 
> So, the first thing I want to say is about how contraception works in the EF (and thank you so much for asking me this question, because I meant to tell you this way sooner but I have the worst memory). They don't have all the things we use in this world, like the pills and so on, but there are natural ways not to have a baby. Getting pregnant now would be pretty difficult for them, and they're being particularly careful since they're in a bad position.
> 
> Then, I wanted to talk a little bit about the things Emma told Henry about Neal. Basically, she told him that she was a thief before and that she met his birth father, but that he died soon after, trying to protect someone. Henry thinks that, since she was pregnant and had no way of getting food, she had to start stealing again, and that's how she got in prison. This will (maybe, I'm not saying too much) be important for the rest of this story, so I wanted to talk a little bit more about that.
> 
> Okay that's it, I really hope that you'll like this chapter! See you at the end for a few more notes (because I'm very talkative today apparently.)

Except that, once again, things didn't go as planned.

They were starting to believe that they were cursed, and that they should have expected their plan to fall apart yet another time. Fate had obviously decided to attack Emma again, to make her go through horrible situations, to test her limits. Life had given her three years of quiet. Three blessed years of happiness, laughter and almost innocence. Then the difficulties had come back, harder than ever.

It wasn't unusual for her to have moments of pure despair when she wanted to lay in bed and never wake up. She was so scared that they would never get out of this, that something really bad would end up happening to them. She was having horrifying nightmares about them starving to death, and she was feeling like they couldn't do anything to prevent that.

But most of the time, she was forcing herself to try and stay strong, to see the good things surrounding her instead of the bad ones. She wasn't alone anymore, she had people who loved her, and they would get through this, together. She wasn't the lost little girl who had thought once upon a time that she would never be enough anymore. She'd grown up, and Killian was there, by her side, always. His presence was helping her not to completely dive into her dark thoughts. He was there, they had a son they needed to protect, and they would be okay.

Their plan of leaving to join the Dome had been impossible to set up, after all. They'd waited for her to have got some strengths back before trying to cross the ocean, knowing that she wouldn't be able to survive such a journey if she wasn't feeling much better, but it'd taken a few days. A few days that they couldn't afford, but they hadn't had a choice.

The food that Killian had stolen had disappeared at an insane speed, since she'd had to eat pretty often in order to get better, and the fruits he'd brought back from his short trip had been eaten in a few days. They were left without anything, and didn't have the opportunity to go back to the orchards for several reasons. They didn't have any food left to survive while one of them was gone, and they were all exhausted. Walking a few days in the freezing cold, while they were starving and barely standing on their feet, was way too dangerous. They didn't want to take that risk. They didn't want to lose each other.

But now that they were left with nothing, they couldn't even think about leaving for the Dome anymore. Crossing the ocean would at least take a week, and in the situation they were in now, they would probably die at sea before reaching their destination. They just wanted to survive, to be happy. The small jobs they were managing to get for a couple of days were getting rare, and were only allowing them to get food for a day at the most. They were completely stuck, captives of their own lives. They didn't know what to do anymore.

So they were faced with a difficult decision. Both of them had a tough past, and they had never even slightly wished to come back to it, simply wanting to have a good life together. But they also had to survive and, as their food reserves had grown empty, they were left with no other choice.

They had to steal.

It would make unpleasant shivers appear in her spine and her heart would start to beat faster each time she would even dare to think about this option. But now that they were on the edge of actually starving, she knew that they were forced to do what was haunting her dreams for years.

She was the one who brought the idea first, one night where they both had been forced to skip dinner. Henry had eaten, luckily, but he was starting to get hungry as well, and she couldn't stand that idea. Ten days had passed since Killian had come back from the orchards to find her half dead in her bed and, after fighting so hard to get better, she was slowly starting to feel weak again. But her own state wasn't worrying her that much. The two people she loved the most were suffering, and she would have done anything to protect them, even if it meant going back to the lower point of her life.

"Killian?" She whispered to his ear, as they were laying in their bed. Her head was resting on his shoulder, and they were both so exhausted they hadn't said anything after putting Henry to sleep, simply settling in each other's arms for comfort.

"Aye, love?" She knew that he was already aware of what she was going to say. She'd guessed that this idea was running through his mind for a long time as well but, as he knew her story, he hadn't dared to say a thing.

"I hate to even think about it, I really do, but we don't have a choice anymore. We..." She stopped there and closed her eyes. Saying her thoughts out loud was definitely harder than she'd expected.

"Emma, are you sure?" he said then, and she understood that she didn't have to say a thing. He already knew. He always did.  _Open book._

"We have to, babe. It's awful, but we do. It doesn't have to be much, it can't be anyway, because we can't get caught. It's probably not going to help us to leave for the Dome. But it's going to allow us to survive, and we have to. I can't lose any of you."

He dropped a kiss to the top of her head."Me neither, Swan. But you won't lose us, I promise."

"I just can't stand seeing you both suffering." She said with sobs in her voice, and she forced herself not to start crying, because it wouldn't help her, she knew it.

"I'm so sorry, Emma." he then murmured, wrapping his arms tighter around her. "I'm sorry that we have to do this, because I was unable to protect you both."

"It's not you." She bit her bottom lip to keep her tears at bay. "It's me. If I hadn't got fired in the first place..."

"Don't say that, darling. Calvin has pushed you to your limits, and he deserved what he got. It's not your fault, it really isn't. Stop feeling guilty, please. I love you, so much, and you're the most amazing woman I know. You're so brave, smart, beautiful. We'll get through this, I know it. We just have to do what it takes."

He buried his nose in her hair to breathe her in, and she wiped off the tears that were now rolling down her cheeks. Even if his soft words had managed to make her feel a bit better about herself, as always, she was still horribly worried. She didn't want to be a thief again. But Killian had proved that it was possible to steal without being caught when he'd done so to save her life, and they would do it again. They would be okay. And as soon as they would be able to, they would get to the Dome and start a new life.

Despite her comforting thoughts, she didn't sleep that night.

She was feeling like she'd come back to being a teenager all over again, a too skinny little girl with dark circles under her eyes, who was stealing from the merchants to get a bit of food. And she couldn't help but think about how that had finished for her. She knew that they'd taken the only decision they could, but she was so, so scared.

She didn't want to go back to the dark and damp cells of the prison. She knew that if she got caught, she would spend a long time there, since she was a recidivist. But they couldn't let themselves starve to death. They had a son to feed, but it was also what was worrying her the most. Their little boy needed them, and they had to stay safe, or he would be left without anyone to look after him.

They were doing all of this for Henry, but her fears were slowly taking over her as she was laying there in the dark. She couldn't let her son grow without parents, she couldn't let him live what she'd had to go through as a child. She didn't want him to lose his innocence into the cruelty of the streets, where no one could ever be trusted.

She wanted him to have a family, to be happy and loved. And she was afraid of the example that they were setting for him by deciding to steal. They were going to take things from innocent merchants, who didn't have anything to do with their situation. Henry knew that she'd been a thief before, of course, but doing it all over again was different. And she was terrified.

Killian knew how she was feeling all too well, and he didn't sleep either. He just held her close and dropped little kisses to her temple, showing her that he was there and that she didn't have to get through this by herself. She wasn't alone anymore. He murmured to her ear that everything would be okay over and over again, as she was snuggling a bit closer to him, because despite everything, his presence managed to make her feel a bit better.

She didn't know how she would have done it to stay sane of he hadn't been by her side. He was her light in the dark, her rock, and through their horrible situation, she was so grateful to have found him. Always.

They didn't waste a second after getting out of bed the next morning, directly going to tell Henry about what they'd decided to do, and why they'd taken that hard decision. He was a smart little boy, and he would have figured out how they were getting the food, if they'd chosen to hide it from him. He knew that his meals weren't magically appearing on the table at night. Even if he was still convinced that she was the Savior, she'd explained him long ago that if some people had magical powers, it wasn't her case. They had to survive on their own, without any help. And they needed to tell him everything, so he didn't feel like he couldn't trust them.

The idea of lying to him hadn't even crossed their mind. Emma had rules, and one of them was to never lie to her son. The only time she'd done so was when she'd told him that his birth father was a hero, and not the coward the he really was. And even if she'd broken a promise made to herself with this, she didn't regret that decision. Henry didn't need to know that his biological father was far from being a good man. It would probably have been too painful for him to hear, and she just wanted to protect him.

They approached their son's room with a lump stuck in their throats, and when they knelt next to his bed, he immediately understood that they were about to tell him something important. She felt like she was going to cry, and all she could remember was the moment where, as a little boy, he'd made her promise that she would never steal again, because he was too afraid of losing her.

"We have something to tell you, kid." She started in a broken voice.

She explained everything, trying to stay calm, because he didn't need to see her cry. But when she stopped talking, tears were rolling down her cheeks, and Killian wrapped his arm a bit tighter around her waist to keep her close. Their son looked at the both of them for a few seconds of thick silence, as if he were thinking about what to say next. Then, in a serious expression that made her blink in surprise, he nodded and simply stated :

"It's okay, guys. I know that we don't have a choice anymore. Don't be sad, mom. I get it, really. It's only temporary, we'll get through this, I know it." He stopped for a second, took a deep breath, then continued. "I know that you both don't want to believe in the story of the Lost Princess, and I guess that it does seem a bit crazy, but I also know what's going to happen. We won't stay in this situation forever. One day, we'll live in a castle, and we'll have everything we want without having to worry about surviving. We'll be happy. It's only a difficult time to get through, but we have to be strong, to reach the future that's awaiting for us."

Emma was still crying when he got quiet, but it was for another reason, now. She was so proud of the wonderful little boy he was, and was feeling like he would never stop to amaze her. Even if he was holding onto this tale, refusing to believe that it was only just a legend, he was getting strength in it, and she wouldn't get that away from him. He was trying to reassure them, and she just felt so grateful for her baby boy, who wasn't really a baby anymore, she realized.

He leaned to take her in his arms, and whispered. "Please, mom, don't cry. We'll be all right."

He held her for a long time, there, before Killian came to join their embrace, telling Henry how proud he was of him. Finally, after a restless night, the three of them fell asleep in Henry's bed, a bit comforted by their conversation. Maybe their son was right. Maybe they would be okay.

Even though they didn't have anything to eat anymore and needed to hurry, they took the day to discuss about what to do. Killian and Emma talked for hours, trying to set up a plan, to find a method that wouldn't put them in danger. They were aware that stealing without having a good idea of what they were doing was horribly dangerous, and they couldn't take that risk. They couldn't get locked up in some cell and leave their son all alone in the world.

They tried to convince themselves that this decision was only temporary, until they could find another solution to take the Jolly Roger to the other side of the world, get a job there, and start anew. It was what she was telling herself over and over again to keep her tears at bay while she was talking with her boyfriend, because she knew that they weren't going to do that forever. They would end up being safe and happy, some day. If she believed it strong enough, maybe things would go as it always did in Henry's books, and their wishes would become true.

They talked and talked, trying to build a flawless plan in their mind exhausted by the hunger and the lack of sleep. And, finally, they found something, something that could work while keeping them relatively out of harm's way. They got quiet then, and she wrapped her arms around Killian and buried her face in his neck, relieved to have something to do, but also terrified that it wouldn't go as planned, and that they would put themselves in danger. Killian knew how she felt all too well, and he gently stroked her back, whispering to her ear :

"It's all right, love. It will work. You know that there is no way I would put you in danger if I thought that it wasn't a good plan. It's perfect, and we need it to survive."

"I know." She said in a muffled voice, and he kissed her neck to gently soothe her.

They decided to go get themselves something to eat the very next day. She would have preferred for them to wait for a bit longer, to go over every little details until she could recite the plan in her sleep, but they didn't have time for that. Henry hadn't been able to eat that night, Killian and herself were starving for days, and they had to do something. She had to save those she loved.

The next day, they found themselves standing on the deck of the ship in the dim light of the morning. Emma hadn't slept a bit once again, too terrified at the idea that something would go wrong, and she grabbed Killian's hand after kissing Henry's forehead, trying but failing to smile at him.

"Be careful." Their son asked them, concern audible in his voice and the dark circles around his eyes telling the tale of a night without sleep.

"Don't you worry, lad." Killian answered with a comforting smile that remained small. "There's no way we'll ever put you in danger. We're coming back, and we'll finally have food with us. We'll be able to eat tonight, all right?"

Henry nodded slowly, and she added, running her free hand through his hair one last time to try and find the strength to get out there. "I love you, kid. Be safe."

And on that note, they were gone.

She squeezed Killian's hand as she was stepping on the ground, trying to stop herself from shaking. Her boyfriend gave her a worried look, and pressed a little kiss on her lips, but he didn't say a thing. He knew that nothing could soothe her right now, and that his presence was the best thing he could offer her. She suddenly felt like she would probably have turned insane long ago, without him or her son in her life. They were the most important things in the world, and she wouldn't let them down.

They walked in silence to their destination, shivering because of the cold, the black clouds in the sky threatening to tear any minute to pour a deluge on their heads. They were headed to the bigger city, and she was going over their plan for the thousandth time in her head, comforted by the touch of Killian's skin against hers.

A market had its quarter there all year long, in the center of the town, and people were coming from all over the small villages around the city to get to it. It was where they would normally have gone to buy food if they had been able to, because it offered everything that they could possibly need. And it was where Killian had come to steal when she'd been sick, where he'd been lucky enough not to get caught, because without a plan and panicked as he was, he could have ended up in a cell. She took a second to thank every gods she could think of on that moment that it hadn't been the case.

Vegetables, meat, fruits, fish, sweets could be found in this huge gathering, but also books, furniture, animals, kitchen utensils. Saying that the place was heterogeneous would have been an understatement. Emma could still remember herself, little girl, walking through the stalls and calling the buyers to try and get a bit of food. She could recall her teenager self stealing from the merchants, trying to stay discreet. She had gone back in time, and it was horrifying, because her only hope had been to finally be happy.

But she also knew that they'd taken the right decision to come there. The place was immense and so crowded they were nearly invisible. People were rushing into each other, the merchants were adressing the potential clients, kids were running around and noblemen were trying to get the best deal on luxurious items she couldn't even look at. They couldn't have wished for a better place to do what they had to without being seen.

Still, things would have been so much easier if they'd simply decided to steal the gold right from the clients' pockets. The crowd would have allowed them to do so easily, but they had been unable to take that decision. Stealing a bit of food was one thing, but directly taking the gold from someone they didn't know was too much for them. Maybe these people were struggling too, and they were refusing to put somebody else in danger. They couldn't even think about this possibility without getting nauseous.

She hadn't let go of Killian's hand, but if it was still for comfort, she was also making sure that she wouldn't lose him into the crowd. They were trying to walk without rushing too many people, and she was suddenly feeling sick. Her heart was beating so fast she was feeling like it was going to explode. But she kept on going anyway, because they didn't have a choice. They had to survive. And they needed food to do so.

They had decided to try their plan at one of the stalls offering fruits and vegetables, knowing that it would be crowded and that the risk of being seen would be very low. There was food everywhere in this place, and the smells made her stomach rumble almost painfully. She had a headache, and was feeling like her legs were getting weaker by the minute. The last thing she'd eaten was for breakfast the day before, and she was starving. She placed a hand on her stomach with a little wince, and Killian turned to her, frowning. She tried to smile to reassure him. He was already so worried, she didn't want to make things worse.

He'd insisted a dozen times to give her his small meals since they'd found themselves in this situation, so she could eat a bit more, but she'd always refused his offer, not even wanting to think about this solution. But after what they'd had to go through when she'd got food poisoning, she could understand his reactions. He'd been so scared of losing her, and she knew that he was still having nightmares about that day, given how he would wake up at night, breathing fast and holding onto her to make sure that she was still there.

He wanted to protect her, but she wouldn't let him suffer for her own comfort. They were in this together, and it just wasn't fair for her to be okay while he was starving. She loved him so much, she just wanted him to be all right.

As they were still walking, a drop of rain hit the top of her head, almost immediately followed by another. Then, without notice, a true downpour started to fall from the sky, and Emma placed the hood of her cloak over her head to protect herself. She usually hated rain, but felt grateful for the weather, for once. People couldn't really see her face while she was hiding under her cape, and it was all good for her.

One of her biggest fears was that people would recognize her because of her past, and suspect her more easily. The merchants still knew her as the little girl who was stealing for them not so long ago, this same lost girl who had been in prison and had gotten herself knocked up. Everybody knew her here. And if, since then, she hadn't tried to steal anything again, her bad reputation was still following her, as Killian's also was. People were unforgiving. And now, she thought that maybe they weren't wrong about her. She was doing it all over again, after all. Her past was catching up with her, and she couldn't do anything to avoid it.

"Ready, darling?" Killian whispered to her ear so no one could hear them.

He squeezed her fingers between his to encourage her, and dropped a kiss to her temple. Lost in her thoughts, she hadn't noticed that they'd arrived in front of the stall they were aiming for. She hardly swallowed and nodded, taking one discreet breath to try and pull herself together.

She had to make her heart slow down and prevent her hands from shaking, or everyone would guess that something was wrong with her.  _Come on,_ she admonished herself,  _you've done this thousands of times. You're not going to get caught._  It wasn't a happy thought, because diving back into her past like that was horrifying, but it did reassure her a little bit.

She quickly ran her hand down her right side, making sure that the satchel she was wearing under her cloak wasn't noticeable from the outside. They'd taken it with them to discreetly carry the food they would manage to get, and it was really important that it stayed invisible. Finally certain that no one could guess that a bag was hidden there, she forced herself to place a fake smile on her face. Killian's fingers pressed hers one last time, and they finally stepped forward to start the next part of their plan.

She let go of Killian's hand, but they stayed side by side while approaching the stall together. Her boyfriend stopped right in front of the merchant, who looked at them with a somewhat sly smile. He was probably seeing in them an opportunity to change the prices of his products and earn a bit more gold, noticing that he didn't know these people and that ripping them off would be easy.

Emma would have been annoyed if she'd been able to think about anything else than what she needed to do. It was still raining, yet, when she looked around, she noticed that the stall was crowded, and it was definitely a good thing for them. She forced herself to try and relax a bit. Everything was going perfectly fine until now.

Going right to the merchant to talk to him was part of their plan. He wouldn't suspect them if they were trying to stay noticeable.  _Sometimes, the best way to stay invisible is to walk straight into the light._  Emma smiled at the man facing them from under he hood, staying next to Killian. The seller immediately started to speak in a cheerful tone, showing them the dozens of fruits and vegetables laying in front of him.

"Tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, oranges, apples… I have everything you could possibly ask for, perfect quality and the best prices!"

"I don't doubt that." Killian answered politely. "And your products seem fresh enough. What would you recommend for us? We have a little boy, and he definitely needs his strength to grow up."

"Oh, I get lots of parents coming to ask me for advice. You see, only my products could give him everything that he needs right now!"

In other circumstances, Emma would probably have rolled her eyes, but she was too focused to even pay attention to what the man was saying. As he was still talking loudly, Killian casually placed his hook on the edge of a box containing cabbages. Looking up, she noticed that the merchant had got a bit stiff, and was staring at Killian almost suspiciously.

Their plan was going great. They'd bet on Killian's reputation as a pirate to build their strategy, while hoping that not everyone in this city knew that they were together, the past thief and the former pirate. Her heart was beating so fast against her ribs, but the man wasn't even looking at her anymore. He'd probably heard everything about the great Captain Hook, and was scared that he would steal something from him.

He'd forgotten about her, she'd been discreet enough to allow that to happen, and if he kept on talking, his eyes had taken a darker shade. Killian was still pretending to be carefully listening to him, but his jaw had clenched a bit. Emma blinked to chase her sadness away, her chest tightening almost painfully. This situation was hurting him as well, he couldn't stand the gaze the merchant was giving him, and she couldn't bear to see him suffering. But they had to go on. They didn't have a choice.

So she slowly walked away from the both of them, pretending to peer at the different boxes laying in front of her. Discreetly, she looked around her to see if she was safe. The other clients weren't paying any attention to them, too focused on complaining about the rain, the crowd, or the lack of time, and no one cared about the young woman simply watching the stall.

She glanced at the merchant one last time as he was still talking with Killian, and in a gesture so fast that it became almost invisible to the naked eye, she took one of the oranges facing her and hid it in the safety of her bag. She stayed still for a few seconds, ready to feel a hand grabbing her shoulder, a voice yelling for her to stop right there, but nothing happened. No one had seen her. Everything was okay.

She moved slightly to the right to put a few carrots into the satchel, and repeated the process several times without ever getting caught, or even suspected. These gestures she'd done so often as a child were coming back like reflexes, and if she wasn't proud of that observation, she realized that she was still very good at being subtle. The last time, she hadn't been caught because she'd been too clumsy, after all. She'd been locked up in a cell because the coward that was supposed to love her had abandoned her, and she hadn't had the time to hide when the jeweler had realized that his marvels were gone. She was going to be just fine. She needed to stop panicking.

When she felt the strap of her bag starting to weigh on her shoulder, she decided to stop, knowing that stealing too much at once would only make her easier to catch. She slowly walked back to Killian, pretending to look at the products. Her boyfriend was still talking about varied subjects with the merchant, who hadn't stopped staring at him, as if he were a wild animal ready to jump at his throat.

Emma smiled at the man facing her, and gently placed her hand in Killian's back to announce her presence, still staying discreet while making sure to be polite. Her boyfriend finished his sentence and turned to her with a gentle grin, and she took a breath, preparing for what was coming. That was when the real show would start, and she prayed for her voice to stay steady so she would continue to look completely innocent.

"So, honey, what do you think we should get?" Killian said gently, and if he was completely convincing, she knew him too much to miss the little spark of fear shinning in his blue eyes.

"The carrots look good. We could get some lettuce and a few oranges as well, what do you think?"

"What the lady wants, the lady gets" Killian answered, smiling at the seller, and the fake laugh he offered them made her cringe slightly.

"Of course."

As the man was taking a few steps back to take care of their order, all while still watching them to make sure that they weren't trying anything, Killian pretended to reach for the small empty leather purse tied at his belt. His expression changed to display a frankly convincing frown of surprise, and his performance amazed her for a second. He opened his eyes wide, taking the item in his hands. He showed it to the merchant, as if in search of a witness, and cried out :

"It was full when we arrived here!"

Emma placed her hand on her belt then, pretending to be horrified as well by what she was discovering. "Mine is empty too." She said in a small voice.

"Someone must have stolen from you!" The man exclaimed, obviously scandalized.

He started to look all around him to make sure that his stall was intact, and didn't seem to realize that some things were missing. Emma internally sighed in relief, knowing that they were safe, almost. They wouldn't get in trouble, not today anyway.

They'd had this idea to cover themselves, since they didn't know if something could go wrong. She'd been very careful to only steal one or two products of each kind, but even this was risky if the merchant was particularly careful. So they'd decided to pretend to be victims of a thief as well, because no one would suspect them if they were the one who had got hurt.

They were aware that they couldn't go on with that plan forever, because people talked and, sooner or later, someone would notice their little strategy. But for now, they were safe. The market was huge, and the sellers weren't really talking to each other, the rivalry of trying to earn the most gold too strong for them to make friends. The probability of someone telling their story to somebody else was very low, and they'd decided to never steal from the same stall twice. They were counting on their luck to be able to keep on doing that for a while, without anyone suspecting them.

She really hoped that, soon, they could find a solution to cross the ocean and join the Dome without putting themselves in danger by making the journey. She was holding onto that idea to try and not fall apart, because she was getting desperate. Things were already so complicated, and the guilt she was adding on top of everything wasn't helping. But they just needed to feed themselves, and it was the most important thing to accomplish right now.

"I truly apologize." Killian continued, still looking horrified. "We won't be able to buy anything from you today."

"It's okay." The merchant said with a compassionate smile. "I get it. Now, if you'll allow me, I should watch my stall for a while. I don't want someone to steal from me, and you never know where the thief might be in this crowd."

_Right under your nose_ , Emma thought, feeling a pinch of guilt in her chest, because if she didn't really appreciate that man's manners, she was still stealing from his livelihood, and she was feeling like a terrible person. She was forced to, but, god, how awful that felt.

"It's a wise thing to do." Killian said. "Good day to you, then."

The man nodded, all while throwing suspicious glances all around him, and they casually walked away, pretending to be talking about what they would do now that their money had been stolen. They didn't say one thing about their plan going great, and got quiet once they were far enough for the seller not to see them anymore.

They didn't want to draw attention to themselves, but she still found Killian's hand to interlace their fingers together. He pressed her fingers in his, silently reassuring her, and she could almost hear his thoughts.  _We're fine, love. Everything is fine._

She could feel her satchel, now filled with food, weighing on her hips, and felt the guilt taking over her once again, thinking about this poor man they'd just trapped. But she forced herself to keep calm and just held Killian a little bit tighter. Her stomach was painful because of how hungry she was, and she knew that, since they didn't want Henry to know the same pain, they had done what they needed to do. It still felt wrong, but they had protected their son, at least. To feel a little bit better, she promised herself that, if one day they managed to get out of this horrible situation, she would redeem herself by repaying every single person she'd stolen from.

They walked in silence for a while, and it's only when they found themselves alone in the middle of the forest, the trees covering them and certain that no one could see what they were doing, that they finally stopped. Killian turned to look at her, still holding her hand. His assured expression was long gone, he was looking deeply worried, and she could guess that he also felt terribly guilty. She offered him a small smile so he wouldn't feel too bad. They were in this together, and if she was feeling horrible too, she just wanted to reassure the man she loved.

And they'd been successful. She'd stolen enough for them to survive for a couple of days, maybe a bit more if they were being careful. If she would have wanted to find another way to survive, she suddenly felt so relieved. At least they wouldn't starve, not right away anyway. And perhaps they could gather enough supplies to try and cross the ocean, after all. They hadn't dared to hope about that possibility, because it seemed impossible, but things had gone so well. Maybe everything would be perfect again, soon.

Despite this observation, she still felt like an awful human being.

"Are you all right, Emma?" Killian's first question made her smile slightly. She could tell that he was dying to know how much she'd been able to get from the stall, but he still wanted to make sure that she was okay.

"I'm fine. You?" She said, looking up to meet his blue eyes.

"Relieved that this is over, for now." He answered with a little shrug. "How much were you able to get?"

She sighed quietly, and slowly took off her cloak to show him the bag. It'd stopped raining now, and she felt like, for once, the luck had been on their side concerning the weather, because it would definitely have been more difficult without the rain. Killian helped her to take the heavy satchel out of her shoulders, and he peered at it, hope shinning in his eyes.

She leaned as well, since she wasn't totally sure of how much she'd taken. She'd been so focused on not getting caught that she didn't even know what was in the satchel. But it was completely full, and she realized that, if she was ashamed of it, she had done a good job.

All sorts of vegetables and fruits were gathered there, and she immediately started to feel her stomach rumbling a bit louder. She was so hungry she had to place her hand on her belly to try and curb the pain there, wincing slightly. Killian noticed her expression right away, and he said seriously :

"There's enough food in there for at least three days. You should eat something."

"That's sweet, babe, but we agreed on letting Henry eat first." She sighed, touched by his thoughtfulness, but she had to do what was right for her son. "I'll be okay."

He bit his bottom lip, thinking for a few seconds, as if he were trying to find a solution. Then he handed her the bag, searched in it for a while, and got an apple out of it. He offered her a small grin and gave her the fruit with a raise of his eyebrow that almost made her forget about what had happened to laugh at his expression.

"The lad hates apple, and we both know that he won't even touch it. Take it. You need to eat."

Her smile widened a bit more at his words. He really knew his family by heart, and it was true that their son hated that fruit. It was probably all because of the story of Snow White that he loved so much. Since he thought that she was her daughter, eating an apple while the princess had almost died because of one was treason for him. She'd never tried to make him change his mind about this. She didn't really like that fruit either, even if she didn't know why, and always tried to avoid it if she could. But this time, she was so hungry that it seemed like the most appealing thing she'd ever seen. Killian started to talk again, playfully nudging her shoulder :

"I know you don't really like apples either, princess. Maybe there's a reason for it, and Henry is right after all. Perhaps you're the Lost Princess, and this hate for this fruit runs into the family"

She chuckled a bit, and realized with gratefulness that he was managing to make her forget about her guilt for a while. This little game about the legend being real had always existed between them, and she knew that his teasing was all about making her feel better. He just wanted her to be happy. And it'd worked, because the weight on her shoulders had suddenly disappeared. She shook her head and met his gorgeous blue eyes, her smile still dancing on her lips. For a second, she felt like they'd gone back in time to land a few weeks earlier, when everything was still perfect and they didn't have to worry about surviving.

"You're an idiot." She whispered, and he laughed as well, taking a step forward to wrap his left arm around her waist.

"An idiot that would do anything to make you smile." He answered, and she rested her head against his shoulder for a second to feel him close.

"And you manage to do so wonderfully. You know what? I'll accept your offer only if you eat with me." She said then, showing him the second apple in the bag. "Because I would do anything to make you happy, too."

"As you wish, your majesty." He said, making her laugh again.

She pulled away from him for a second to place the satchel back around her shoulders, and she bit into the apple, enjoying the fact that she could finally eat something. When she looked up again to meet Killian's eyes, she realized that, if they'd been full of laughter a second earlier, they were now staring at her to make sure that she was okay. She smiled at him softly and snuggled back into his arms. He held her close, dropping a kiss to the top of her head and drawing little circles on her back in a soothing gesture.

"Thank you." She whispered against his chest.

"What for, darling?" He sounded a bit surprised, and she closed her eyes to enjoy his presence.

"For always being there to make me feel better when you know that I'm struggling."

"No need to thank me, my love. I'm here for you, always. As I know you are for me."

His support meant the world to her, and she kissed his neck before saying. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

She felt him smile against her, and she looked up, putting herself on her tiptoe to place a little peck on his lips. She snuggled back in his arms then, and they stayed there for a few minutes, the strength of his arms making her heartbeats slow down a bit. She felt complete against him, she felt good and loved.  _I love you_  didn't even seem strong enough to show him how much he meant to her anymore.

After a while, he ended up kissing her hair once again, and said in a soft voice : "Let's go back to the lad, shall we?"

She nodded, and grabbed his hook, so he could eat his apple on the way while still being close to her. Eating a bit made her feel so good, even if it wasn't much, and she immediately felt less dizzy while her headache disappeared. They walked in silence, not needing words to understand each other's thoughts anymore. Two figures in the dim light of this rainy day, making their way back to their son, feeling like, as long as they were together, they finally belonged somewhere.

They arrived in the harbor short after, and Henry greeted them with shrieks of joy, first when he realized that they were fine, then when they showed him the food that they'd brought. If she smiled at first, happy to see her son's reaction, a wave of guilt overwhelmed her once again when she realized the terrible example she was setting for him. She didn't want to show him that stealing was okay, but it was the last thing that they had to stay alive.

But she felt all better suddenly when Killian's hand brushed against the small of her back, as he'd guessed her thoughts. He leaned to whisper to her ear, so gently her heart skipped a beat : "We'll be okay soon, Swan, and we'll repay those we've stolen from. I promise."

She got a bit closer to him, and the smile etched on Henry's face when he saw the huge orange hiding at the bottom of the bag finally erased the pinch weighing on her stomach. They'd done this to save their son. And she would have done anything to see her baby boy smile like that.

That night, as they were laying in each other's arms in their bed, their stomachs finally relieved now that they'd been able to share a good meal, Killian and Emma did a quick calculation. They realized that, if they kept on going to the market every day or so, they could get enough food to try and cross the ocean really soon.

It made her sigh in relief, because they wouldn't have to go on for much longer like that. They were going to start anew, without their reputation following them. No one would know her as the orphan turned young thief or see her as a crazy waitress who'd punched her boss's son. People would finally understand that she was just a hard-working woman, simply wanting the best for her family.

She felt like a new hope had arisen in her. Killian was right. She was strong, she was good enough, and she would end up finding a boss who would think so too. She was Emma Swan. She wouldn't let rumors define her. She wasn't scared of leaving anymore, she realized. She even wanted it more than anything. It would only do them good, and they would finally find a real home. They would finally be happy.

It's on these comforting thoughts that she fell asleep against the man she loved, reassured about their future. Promising herself that she would repay everything that she'd stolen as soon as she could, made her feel better as well. It was only temporary. They would find something better soon.

And something resembling a routine settled in their new life. While always being careful to never approach the stalls they'd already stolen from, they would recreate their plan throughout the market, bringing back meat, fish, bread or vegetables every night. They would eat the things they weren't able to keep for long, and would store the rest in the hold of the Jolly Roger for their upcoming journey to the Dome. If they hated what they had to do, at least they weren't hungry anymore. And they would be able to leave very soon.

But despite these reassuring results, Emma's guilt wasn't leaving her. Sometimes, she managed to tell herself that it was okay, like after their first theft, but most of the time, her crimes would come back to hit her at the most unexpected moments. She would start panting, a cold sweat appearing on her forehead as everything would start to get blurry around her. She would feel like she was the most terrible person, images of her past flashing before her eyes, and during those moments, Killian's arms were the only things able to calm her down. His words would always manage to make her feel better. Until the next panic attack, at least.

It happened one night, ten days after their first time in the market. She'd fallen asleep, feeling like she couldn't keep on doing that for much longer anymore. She was feeling so guilty, like she was turning insane. She woke up with a gasp, feeling like she couldn't breathe. In her dream, she'd relived that day where she'd been locked up in her cell, after Neal had abandoned her, and she was so scared that it would happen all over again. The oxygen wasn't reaching her lungs anymore, and she was feeling like she was going to die.

Somehow, she'd rolled out of Killian's arms in her sleep, and looked at him, laying next to her, still breathing peacefully. He was feeling bad too, and she didn't want to wake him up to make things even worse. But she couldn't help it, she was panicking, feeling helpless and, mostly, she hated herself. It was too much. Too much pain and too much guilt adding up, and she suddenly wished that she could fall asleep to never wake up again.

She tried to calm herself down, thinking that they would never get caught, because they were forming such a good team. They were discreet and fast, and she'd always managed to hide her face from the merchants so they wouldn't know who she was. No one had never suspected them, but she was terrified of ending up in a cell again. She just wanted her family to be safe and happy, but the weight of her actions was slowly getting too heavy to bear.

And that wasn't all. If after their first theft, they'd been relieved to notice that, with that amount of food, they would be able to leave soon, she was scared that it wouldn't be that easy. Even if they managed to reach the Dome safe and sound, nothing was certain. What if they didn't find any job there, either? Or what if they simply didn't find anything for a few weeks, because being hired wasn't easy? Would they be forced to steal again? The thing was, they didn't just need food, and she knew it. They also needed money, and she didn't know how they could get that without stealing directly from someone's purse. Everything seemed threatening, and she felt like her head was about to explode.

Her vision had turned blurry, and she was shaking so hard her entire body was almost convulsing. She slowly climbed out of bed, not wanting to wake Killian up. Maybe going on deck to look at the ocean would calm her down. The sea had always had the wonderful power of making her feel better when nothing felt right. She would lean against the handrail and watch the dark waves crash against the ship, and would feel in peace with the world. She just hoped it would help her this time as well. She really needed it.

But when she tried to climb the ladder to join the outside world, she realized that she was shaking so hard it was impossible for her to keep her balance. She tried to settle down, but she ended up slipping on one of the steps, and fell back on her feet on the floor of the captain's quarter with a horrible crash.

The noise made her startle herself, and she turned to look at Killian, her arms wrapped around herself for comfort. She didn't want to worry him and she hoped that she hadn't woken him up. She didn't want him to see her in that state once again. She didn't want to worsen the situation. And she just wanted to cry, because she couldn't even climb a damn ladder anymore. She was frustrated, exhausted, and just wished for all of this to be over.

But Killian was a light sleeper. It was a miracle that he hadn't woken up as soon as he'd felt her leaving the bed. He opened his eyes and jumped on his feet, his hook brandished in front of him, ready for a fight against a nonexistent danger. She kept on standing there, shaking and watching him as his eyes were accommodating to the darkness of the room. Finally, she saw his expression softening at her sight, and he approached her, asking in a whisper :

"Swan? Are you all right? What's wrong?"

Hearing his worried voice made her feel like she was crumbling. All the tears she'd refused to shed these last few days in order not to worry her family appeared in her green eyes. She suddenly felt like she was going to drown in her own distress. Her teeth were clashing in her mouth, and she didn't know what to do to calm herself down anymore.

But she didn't have to search for long. Seeing how bad she was feeling, Killian took a step forward and wrapped his arms around her without asking anything, because he knew. He always did. She collapsed against his chest, as he was holding her close, keeping her on her feet. She felt like his arms were the only safe heaven in this world that had turned into an enemy, and she held him tightly, because it was the only thing able to make her feel a bit better right now.

She heard at his shaky voice that he was about to cry when he started to talk, gently rocking her against him. "Gods, you're shaking."

She knew that she didn't need to say anything. He'd got her despair and why she was feeling that way, reading into her soul with an amazing easiness. He gently led her to the bed without letting go of her once, and pulled her to him so she was sitting on his lap. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and buried her face in the crook of his neck as he was whispering in a voice thick with sobs :

"It's going to be okay, lass. It's only temporary, I promise. I know that you feel guilty, but we're not going to get caught, I won't let that happen. In a few days, we will have enough food to leave this bloody place, and we'll start anew at the Dome. You don't have to worry, my love, we'll get through this. We always do. As long as we're together, we'll be just fine."

"It's just that..." She sobbed as he was gently stroking her back. "If we were stealing from rich people, I wouldn't feel that way. It's still not right, but… They'd be fine, they wouldn't need what we would steal from them. But the merchants on the market… They're just people like you and me. They have families to feed and we're taking this from them, and maybe they're struggling because of us..."

"I know, Emma, I feel terrible too." He said in a broken voice. "But it's not forever. We'll move out from here, and start again on the other side of the world. We'll redeem ourselves, I promise."

"Killian, you're saying this, but you don't know what's going to happen. Even if we make it through the journey… How are we going to survive at the Dome without any money?" She said, feeling like she was finally admitting those doubts that she'd kept in herself for an eternity. "I feel like we're never going to get out of this. And I don't want to have to steal until the end of my life..."

"Don't say that, darling, please." He whispered to her ear. "We'll be okay. I'll never let anything happen to you or Henry. I've got you both."

She didn't feel like protesting again. She just wanted to believe him, to let him comfort her. He never lied to her, after all, and she knew that he would protect them no matter what, exactly like she would protect him and their son with her life. She snuggled a bit closer to him, and, soothed by his strokes, she ended up calming down. As he was running his fingers through her tangled hair, she murmured, sniffing :

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, love. You're the strongest woman I know, you know that, aye? I know it's hard, but we'll be okay. Everything is going to fall back into place, and nothing is going to happen to us. We're fighters, aren't we?"

She didn't answer anything, letting his words get to her, but she held him even tighter. She was so thankful to have him by her side, to have found her soulmate and partner, because he was the center of her world. She kissed his neck then, to thank him for his support, and as an answer, he just buried his nose in her hair to breathe her in. They were together against the world. Always.

They ended up laying back down in their bed, still wrapped in their tight embrace, because they didn't feel like parting. It's as she was finally drifting into sleep, comforted by Killian's arms around her, that an idea crossed her mind, and she opened her eyes, suddenly completely awake.

First a bit blurry, the idea quickly got clearer, and she got stiff, eyes wide open in the darkness. Killian's breathing, still a bit fast, told her that he wasn't asleep yet. No wonder, she was always the first one to fall asleep. It was as if he wanted to make sure that she was okay before allowing himself to rest as well. Her heart was pounding fast in her chest, and she felt like she needed to tell him everything, right away. Maybe she'd finally found a solution. Maybe Killian was right and they would be just fine.

"Killian?" She murmured into the quiet of the room.

"Aye, love?"

"I think I have an idea to get ourselves gold so we don't have to steal again when we'll get to the Dome." She stated in a clear voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I really hope that you liked this! I wanted to tell you about the little sentence I put in this chapter "Sometimes, the best way to stay invisible is to walk straight into the light". This idea comes from a French series of book that I love, and the main character is one of my hero, so I'm paying a bit of a tribute to her here.
> 
> Also, I'll try my best, but it's possible that I won't be able to publish before a couple of weeks. I promise that I'll do everything I can to be able to update sooner, though!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm finally back, so I can post this chapter! Don't worry, if this one is pretty harsh, and the next one is to, things are going to get easier after that. It's not going to be all smooth, but there are definitely going to be moments of happiness between the things the characters will have to go through. I hope you'll like it! :)

"Emma, are you… are sure about this?" Killian stuttered after listening to her while she was explaining her idea.

They'd sat down in their bed, and he was holding her, as if he were scared of what she'd just told him. He was looking at her with wide eyes, and she could easily understand his surprise. She was truly astonished by her own suggestion. But maybe that was it. Maybe they would be okay after taking that huge step.

"I know it's risky." She answered, trying to look more assured than she felt. "But we can do this. We have to, Killian."

"I'm not talking about our ability to put your plan into action, Swan." He gently corrected her. "I know we can do it. We can do anything together. I'm talking about you. I know how complicated this entire situation already is for you. I don't want you to feel even worse. Are you certain that you're ready to do such a thing?"

"If this is the only thing we can find to save our family, you bet I'm ready to take that risk." She stated, but her voice was still shaking a little bit.

She took a deep breath after finishing her sentence to try and hide her emotions. It was true that the plan she'd just found was bold, it was the least she could say, but it seemed like the perfect solution. It was the only solution, actually. They wouldn't find that kind of opportunity twice, and they needed to take that decision so they could finally leave for their new life.

And even if this plan was secretly terrifying her more than anything because of her past, she preferred to do this instead of continuing to steal every day without knowing where they were going like this. She was feeling like she was slowly turning insane, and it couldn't go on that way.

But trying to hide her true feelings from Killian was useless. He read into her soul, as always, and he knew how she really was feeling about all of this, despite her fake assured expression. She sighed as he was wrapping his arms tighter around her, and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Then, he pulled a bit away to be able to look at her, and started to talk in a very soft voice :

"Swan, you know that I'm ready to do anything for you and our family. And this plan sounds good, even if this is a bit risky. But I don't know if we should do it. I don't want to make you suffer even more. You're already feeling horrible because we're forced to steal, and I am too, truly. But this, this is something else. It's big, and I'm also scared that we'll end up getting caught. This is not a slice of bread on the market. This can get us in trouble. I have to say that I'm afraid of where it's going to get us."

"I can't say that I will do it gladly." She said in a somewhat broken voice, because she knew that he was right, she knew that it was dangerous. "But we have to get out of here. We can't leave for the Dome without having any gold with us, we'll have to keep on stealing there if that happens, and I know that I can't do that. This is a one time thing. I'll be fine, and I'm ready to feel bad if that means that we can be okay at the end of the day. This is my fault if we're in this situation, after all."

"Emma, don't..."

"Killian, that's fine." She cut him off gently, knowing that he was about to try and comfort her again. "You know that this is true, and I'm aware that you just want me to be happy, but this is my entire fault if we're left without anything, right now. I'm ready to accept the consequences of what I've done. And this is our only way to get enough money to star anew at the Dome, without stealing from someone we don't know, who could be struggling like we are. We have food for the journey, we just need gold to survive for a few weeks without a job once we get there. But without this money… we will find ourselves in the same position we are now, except that we'll be on the other side of the world. I think this is worth it, I really do."

He stared at her for a long time, looking genuinely worried about how she was feeling, and she didn't manage to stop a lonely tear from rolling down her cheek. She would have done anything to avoid doing this, but it was all they had left if they really wanted to start anew. They had to take a decision, because if they kept on living like this, both of them would end up crumbling. And they couldn't allow that to happen.

Killian gently stroked her cheek to chase away the tear, then took her in his arms once again. She buried her face in the crook of his neck as he was running his fingers through her hair, and she held onto him for dear life. He was her rock, and they could do this, she knew it. They stayed there for a long, long time, then he whispered to her ear :

"All right, then, love. If you feel like we have to do this, it's that we do. But if you want to back out at any given moment, if you feel like this isn't right, you only need to say the words. I won't do anything without your permission. Your idea does seem good, but I don't want to force you to relive that part of your life. If it hurts too much, it isn't worth it."

"It's the opposite, really." She answered against his skin. "If it means that we can all be happy at the end, it is worth everything in the world."

He didn't answer, and they didn't manage to find sleep before the sun started to rise in the sky. It's only then that they allowed themselves to close their eyes, a bit comforted by their embrace, and the other's presence keeping their nightmares at bay.

* * *

"Swan, if you feel like this is wrong, we don't have to do this, you know that. I don't want you to get hurt. We'll find another way. Just… Breathe, please."

"But there's no other way!" She panted, sitting on their bed while trying to catch her breath, but it was getting harder and harder to do so.

They'd decided to try the idea she'd had a few days earlier that afternoon, and if she'd tried to stay calm while explaining her plan to Killian, she wasn't managing to settle down, now. Images of her childhood with Neal, of how she'd felt like when he'd abandoned her, were flashing before her eyes, and she was panicking. Her breathing had grown uneven, and she was starting to get dizzy. She didn't know what to do. She was feeling like she was dying.

These memories were so painful. Her meeting with Neal. Two orphans, all alone in the world, finding a family in each other. Or she'd thought so, because he'd never really loved her, after all, or he wouldn't have left her. The moments they'd shared, the feeling she'd had of finally belonging somewhere. She'd just wanted someone she could trust. She'd chosen the wrong person. And their thefts, taking everything they could find. The way they'd once shared the money at the end of the day.

Then, their failed appointment. The way she'd waited for him, and when they'd brought her to her cell. How confused she'd been, the thoughts that had crossed her mind.  _Maybe it is a mistake, maybe something happened_. But there hadn't been any mistake, because he would have come to search for her, then. And she could remember how she'd wondered why she could never be enough when she'd understood that he wasn't coming. Why she was always alone and why she was unlovable.

She was happy with Killian now, happier than she'd ever been in her entire life, she now knew what being respected felt like, what being in love truly meant, what a supportive partner was. Neal had just been a coward passing through her life, but he'd broken her young heart and had added scars to the dozens already existing there. And she still couldn't forgive him for what he'd done to her. For letting her rot in prison and making her believe that no one could ever love her. She hated him, god, how she hated him.

And she could still recall how she'd watched the baby bump appearing underneath her clothes. She'd been cold and scared, wondering how the hell she would be able to raise a baby. She was all alone, and she was afraid that she would make this kid miserable, too. She didn't want to hurt anyone, and she remembered feeling so helpless.

If these memories would haunt her at night sometimes, and if Killian would always manage to make them go away with the help of his comforting, loving arms, there was a reason why it was all coming back to her right now. She was so scared of going through that all over again. What they were about to do was so similar to the reason why she'd been locked up in the first place. Not that Killian could ever abandon her, it wasn't about that. Their love was more powerful than anything, and they would never let each other down. She trusted him, even more than she trusted herself.

No, Killian was actually her rock in all of this. Because she was so afraid of going back to her cell, of being separated from the people that she loved. Of feeling unloved and worthless again, because she would find herself all alone. She didn't want to go back to where she'd come from. She didn't want to get locked in a cell and never see Killian or Henry again. She would die, from guilt, shame and sadness.

And that idea that she'd had could absolutely bring them there, if they weren't being careful.

But they couldn't do anything else. They had to get out of there, to find money so they would never have to steal again. She wouldn't be able to live like this for much longer. Her constant panic attacks were proving her right.

"Swan? Emma, look at me." Killian said, trying to meet her eyes, and she could see how worried he was. "Breathe, darling. In and out. Good. In, and out. You don't have to do this. You don't have to do anything. If we really need to, I'll do it alone."

"There's no way I'll let you take the responsibility for my own idea!" She cried out then, coming back to reality, because she was so outraged by his offer.

"I just don't want you to get hurt." He said in a voice thick with sobs, and she placed her hand on his cheek to look at him more easily.

"I won't ever do that, you hear me? I won't be like Neal and abandon you. We're in this together. Our plan is based on that. And if you went alone and got caught because I was too scared to do it… It would be my entire fault, and I would never forgive myself. I can't lose you. Henry can't lose his father. We're doing this together, like we've planned too!"

"I know you won't ever abandon me, I trust you so much, my love. But I just want you to feel better..."

"I'll be okay." she said, and she realized that she was starting to breathe a bit more easily, too focused on promising Killian that she wouldn't let him down to pay attention to her own fears. "I'll feel better when it'll be done. I'm scared, but I know we can do it. I just… I need to calm down."

He looked at her with tears in his eyes, truly pained to see her in such distress. She knew that his offer was coming from his fear that she would suffer even more. He just wanted to protect her, but he couldn't and it was obviously making him crazy.

He gently took her against him, arms locked around her, and left a trail of little kisses down her jaw and neck, his lips gently brushing against her skin. His soft touch managed to completely soothe her, and she finally took a deep and helpful breath. Sensing that she was feeling a bit better, he whispered in her ear in a broken voice that made her heart ache.

"I just love you so much. All I want is for you to be happy."

"You're making me happy. Happier than I've ever been, because I love you, too. It's just this situation that makes me miserable. I need all of this to be over." She murmured in his neck.

"I wish I could protect you from getting hurt."

"It'll be okay when we'll get to the Dome and have some gold with us to survive until we can find jobs there." She sighed, snuggling a bit closer to him. "I'll be fine. We will all be. But for that to happen, we'll have to put this damn plan into action. We don't have a choice."

"I'm sorry I asked you to do it myself, I didn't want to upset you. I just want to keep you from all harm." He admitted in a small voice, and she got overwhelmed by how wonderful this man was.

"I wish I could protect you too, you know. You're the most amazing man I know, Killian. And we're making such a good team. I love you."

"I love you, too. Until the end of time." He added, kissing her neck once again.

She stayed in his arms for a long time, until the strength of his embrace made her feel better, because she knew that, for what was to come, she needed to be at her best. She could do it, she thought while she was pulling away from him to finally get on her feet. She'd done that so many times as a teenager without getting caught. She couldn't make a mistake, she knew it, but she also knew how to be good at this by now. They would make it, even if it was bringing back awful memories. And they would finally be able to start anew on the other side of the world.

If she believed it strong enough, maybe it would really happen, after all.

"We should go." She said then, trying to make her voice sound steady, and her assured way of speaking surprised her herself.

Because deep down, she was still absolutely terrified. But the idea of saving her family from knowing more pain was pushing her forward and helping her not to crumble. Killian didn't seem convinced by her act, though, because he got up as well and pressed a long kiss on her forehead. She suddenly felt so safe in his arms as he'd placed his hand on her cheek. She was feeling like he would protect her, no matter what. She knew he would.

Before going, Killian pulled away a little bit and opened a closet in the captain's quarter to get a sword out of it. After carefully placing it in a scabbard, he tied it to his belt, and she was about to ask him if it was a good idea to bring that blade with them when he answered her thoughts : "No one will question it, it's common for everyone to have some sort of weapon. It's just in case."

She nodded then, knowing that he was right. Still wanting to feel his comfort, she briefly wrapped her arms around his waist, before pulling away for good to climb up the ladder and go up on deck.

Henry was awaiting for them at the helm, looking horribly worried. He knew what was going to happen that day, and he seemed terrified as well. Her heart tightened as she noticed how exhausted her little boy looked. The black circles under his eyes made him look older than he really was. He'd already lived so many hard things for such a young child, she just hoped that he would finally be happy after what they were about to do.

He approached them when he heard them arriving. He hadn't tried to come into their room, probably guessing that they needed a moment together to reassure each other. Because in front of him, they were these unbreakable adults that nothing could scare or touch. They wanted to give him that, to pretend that they knew they would be okay. They wanted him to stay a child and not grow up too fast because of these hard times.

"Is it time already?"

Emma nodded slowly and knelt to wrap her arms around him for a comforting hug. Despite how concerned he looked, she knew that they'd taken the right decision to always tell him about their plans. Keeping him in the dark would only have made him feel worse. And he wouldn't have let them go without an explanation, anyway. He could be quite stubborn, this wonderful little boy. He'd probably got that from her.

"What if you get caught?" He asked in a small voice, his face buried in the crook of her neck. "Would I be all alone, then?"

She felt like she was going to start crying, and met Killian's worried gaze. She held Henry a little bit closer as an answer, not knowing what to say. She just knew that she would do anything in her power not to get caught. She would never leave her little boy all alone in the world, like she'd once been. He would never know what being unloved and feeling worthless was. She'd sworn it to herself the first time she'd held him in her arms, the tiny little baby he was there, and she wasn't about to break that promise.

They'd discussed whether they should both go that day for a long time, because they didn't want to take more risks than necessary. With what they were about to do, it was all or nothing. And they knew that their chances of getting nothing or worse were much stronger than the possibility of getting away from this region safely. But they had to do it, and they had to do it together.

If they went alone, Killian's reputation as a pirate or hers as a thief would follow them. When they were together, people were only paying attention to Killian, and forgetting about Emma. It was what had worked until then, and they'd bet on that yet another time. Of course, this time, it was different. Of course, what they were about to steal would be noticed missing sooner or later, unlike the small amounts of food they'd taken until then. But they needed to do this. They needed to move on.

Killian crouched in front of Henry then, placing his hand on his shoulder and meeting his worried eyes. "Hey, lad, look at me. Whatever happens today, we'll never leave you alone. I promise, we'll always be there to protect you, no matter what. You're our whole world, you know that, aye?"

"I know, I just… can't I come with you?" He asked in an almost pleading voice. "If anything happens then, we'll stay together anyway."

"I'm sorry, kid, we can't do that." Emma answered, running her hand through his dark locks. "It's too dangerous for you out there. But we'll come back soon. It's a promise."

Henry nodded slowly, knowing that they wouldn't change their mind, and she wrapped her arms back around him so they could share a collective embrace that gave the three of them the strengths they needed. Henry was holding onto them, obviously not wanting to let go, even if he knew that he didn't have a choice.

Her fear of failing was increased by how reluctant she was to leave her little boy there. But they had to, they couldn't take him with them. If anything had to go wrong, the people wanting to catch them would use Henry to get to them, and she couldn't allow that to happen. She had to protect him.

And they would all be okay at the end. They were in this because of her, she thought, despite what Killian would always tell her at night, when he would murmur to her ear that it wasn't her fault. She had to make amends for her actions. And everything would be just fine. It was the last time they would ever have to do this. She would make sure of that.

They ended up being forced to pull away, because time was passing quickly and they had to go. After one last kiss pressed on the top of Henry's head, and one last  _I love you_  whispered to his ear, they walked away from their son so they wouldn't give themselves the chance to change their mind. They really needed to do this. The big leap before the real life that was awaiting for them on the other side.

She still couldn't help but turn to look at the Jolly Roger one last time, once they'd walked a bit away. She watched Henry's figure, leaning against the handrail, and she could guess that he was crying even though she couldn't see his face. Killian took her hand and pressed her fingers in his, saying incredibly gently :

"It's going to be all right, love. We will all be fine."

She turned to vaguely smile at him, aware that he had no idea of what was going to happen, but grateful that he just wanted to reassure her. Then she blinked a few times, trying to pull herself together. She couldn't let her fears get in the way, or she would risk to lose everything. She needed to stay focused, to forget about her feelings. She could think about what she'd done later, when they would be safe. At the slightest mistake, everything could crumble, and she wouldn't allow that to happen. They needed to be happy, and only that plan could help them to reach their happiness.

"Swan, you only need to say one word, and we'll stop everything." Killian said one last time, and she shook her head to come back to reality, her fingers finding his ring and pulling at the necklace for reassurance.

"Let's go." She simply decided then, and he sighed quietly, because he knew how scared she really was.

And, just like that, they were gone to meet their fate.

* * *

"Emma, are you all right?" Killian kindly asked, a bit worried by the fact she'd just got completely stiff.

She barely nodded at him, because the sounds seemed like distorted to her. She was staring at the place that would decide of their entire future, with her heart pounding so fast in her chest that it could explode. Even if she knew that they had to get the job done, she was utterly terrified.

They were there, for real.

The jewelry shop was standing before their eyes, and she didn't know if she would be able to do what they'd planned to. It seemed so simple, though. Do what she'd done as a teenager. Go in, take a jewel, something that couldn't be noticed missing right away, and sell it to the black market. The same thing she'd done that had put her in prison in the first place.

She tried to ignore the flashes of her childhood coming back to her once again. It was different, this time. It was only one item, they had a good, solid plan, and Killian wasn't going to let her down.

She would be okay.

Despite how painful it was, she knew that they'd chosen the right place. The shop was built a bit out of town, but on the other side of the city, and it was giving them several advantages.

For one, since it was standing on the edge of the forest, they could disappear between the trees in a second if anything went wrong. They also counted on the fact that not many people knew them there, since they had to walk for an hour before arriving to their destination. She wouldn't be able to hide behind a hood this time after all, since they were going to be inside, and it would be just too suspicious. If people knew her name, they didn't necessarily know her face. They wouldn't suspect her when they would see that their jewel was gone. Or she really hoped so anyway.

She suddenly wondered if they shouldn't have come at night after all, but quickly ignored that idea. They'd talked about it, but if it did seem easier, it really wasn't. Because if she could pick locks, making absolutely no noise was impossible. And the sellers almost always lived in their shops, since it was less expensive and they could watch their products without having to worry about thieves. Going at night would only make them the only suspects if the seller caught them, and they couldn't risk that. No, their plan was definitely better. Risky, but better.

She took some deep breaths, and stared at the diamond necklace sitting in the window before them. The shop was really prized, and they hoped that the clothes they'd put on wouldn't threaten their economic status. She was wearing one of her good dress, a dark blue one, and had tied her head up in a bun, like the ladies living in the city. Killian wasn't wearing anything particular, but once again, he wasn't playing any part, except the one of the pirate that he wasn't anymore. These people were so unforgiving, and maybe this would play in Emma and Killian's favor for once.

How wealthy these people were was one of the reason why they'd decided to take that risk, too. They couldn't keep on stealing to the merchants, who were people just like them, it was making them crazy. But stealing to rich people, if it still wasn't right, was making them feel a little less guilty about what they were doing. They definitely needed that marvel more than they did. Or Emma was trying to convince her of that, because she was still feeling like a terrible person.

She kept on staring at the necklace, telling herself that, if they could steal something as precious as this jewel, and if they managed to sell it to the black market, they would finally be safe. It cost a fortune, and they would have enough to survive for a few months with that money. It was all they needed.

The second part of their plan wasn't complicated at all, actually. Killian still had contacts from when he was a famous pirate captain, and these people would be more than happy to buy this marvel and give them the money that they needed. The hardest part was playing now, but they could do it, she knew it.

She couldn't back out now, anyway. Despite how worried Killian looked next to her, how he seemed to wait for her to say that she didn't want to do that after all, she turned to face him with her chin up. She wouldn't give up on her family, and it was the only thing that could save them now. She took another deep breath, and said, pressing Killian's fingers in hers :

"I'm fine. Let's go."

He didn't say a thing, but gently stroked her skin with his thumb before letting go of her hand. This small gesture somehow gave her the courage she needed to step forward and follow him, as he was walking to the shop. She placed her cloak back on her shoulder, feeling so vulnerable without her hood on her head, but she couldn't let the seller see how she was feeling. She needed to seem assured and, mostly, innocent. It was the most important.

So she forced herself to place a peaceful smile on her lips as she was walking past the two guards standing next to the door, keeping the shop safe from thieves like them. Trying not to panic at their sight, because they could be the people who would send them to hell, she politely nodded at them without trying to avoid their gaze. That would only make her seem guilty. Killian opened to door for her to enter first, and they both walked into the establishment.

The inside of the shop was gorgeous. Paintings of beautiful landscapes were hanging on the walls, covered by a beautiful blue and silver tapestry. The ceiling was so tall she felt minuscule, and that wasn't helping her sudden feeling of unease. There were only five other clients in the shop with them, and it was fewer than they'd expected, but they would just have to go with it.

She realized with a quiet sigh of despair that, despite their efforts, these people were still way more dressed than she was. They were wearing fur and ornaments, walking in an assured way that almost left her speechless. She was uncomfortable in this subdued light, and felt like everyone knew that she wasn't from there but was only an impostor. But she straightened, trying to seem confident, because she couldn't do anything else. Killian placed a comforting hand on the small of her back, sensing her thoughts, and it gave her the strength to politely smile at the seller facing them.

The man gave them a suspicious look that made her shiver. He had obviously already noticed Killian, and his eyes were staring at him, not paying any attention to her.  _Good,_ she thought, trying to calm herself down. He looked down at Killian's hook, as if to make sure that he really was the pirate that everyone talked about, and she let go of an internal sigh of relief. Their plan was working. She was invisible, once again.

The shopkeeper immediately walked to them, and she took one step back to hide a bit behind Killian. She was still so scared that he would recognize her or know that the former thief Emma Swan was in a relationship with Captain Hook. But she tried to reassure herself. They were too far away from their village for the man to know everything about them. He only knew Killian as the man he was before, and she wasn't risking anything.

The seller had his jaw clenched, as if he were scared of what Killian could do, and she felt him stiffening a bit beside her. Despite how often they'd done this, it was still making him suffer, and she was hating this.  _It's the last time_ , she told herself to try and stop her heart from beating so fast.  _Then we'll be okay._

The man started to talk in a tensed voice that made her shiver once again "How can I help you?"

"Thank you for offering your help, I really need it." Killian answered with a fake smile. "I'm looking for a very special gift for the lady, here."

"Bracelet? Ring? Necklace?" The seller listed, still looking a little suspicious, but also a bit more relaxed now that he was keeping Killian in sight.

"I think a necklace would be perfect. Do you want to go and take a look around while I search for something, honey?" he asked, gently stroking Emma's back and giving her the start signal.

She smiled at him and nodded, without saying anything out loud because she was too scared that her voice would start to shake and gave her nervousness away. She discreetly walked away as Killian was still talking with the shopkeeper, and the man didn't pay any kind of attention to her. He hadn't recognized her, obviously, and he wasn't seeing her as a threat. It was all good. She could play the rest of her part easily.

She slowly pretended to look at the dozen of marvels in front of her, laying there on red or blue velvet, all so beautiful that it amazed her for a second. She watched them all one by one, trying to see which one could be the best to take with them.

Her eyes finally met the red diamonds of a small, discreet bracelet at the back of the shop. It was so tiny, easy to hide, and if she would have wanted to own a prop to put instead of it so they could walk away before anyone would see that it was missing, it was the prefect solution. With a bit of luck, the seller wouldn't see that it was gone right away, and they would have the time to get safely back to the ship. She just prayed that everything would go that way.

Killian immediately noticed that she'd stopped in front of the bracelet, and he gestured for a necklace on the opposite side of the shop so the seller would turn his back to her. There was no other shopkeeper in the establishment, only the guards outside to keep the marvels safe, and they seemed a bit lost in their thoughts. They probably didn't meet many thieves in broad day light, simply entering the shop to take what they wanted, and they had bet on the surprise effect to get out of this situation quickly.

Looking around, Emma saw that the other clients seemed too deep into their little world to even see her. No one was watching her.

It was the perfect moment. And she really needed to stop shaking.

In a fast and discreet gesture she'd repeated so many times as a teenager, this same gesture that she'd practiced on the market for the last few days, she grabbed the bracelet and placed it in her sleeve. The coldness of the diamonds made her shiver, and she was feeling like her heart was about to explode. She could feel that something bad was about to happen, and she was so scared of herself.

And there it was. Flashes of her childhood made their way to her once again, and she couldn't do anything to stop them. She was seventeen again. The sheriff was approaching her, with guards all around him, as she was looking everywhere, convinced that Neal was going to show up, because he wasn't going to abandon her. He couldn't.

She could still hear the noise the chains had made when they'd tied her up so she wouldn't run. She could still feel the freezing cold and see the darkness of the cell in which she'd stayed, waiting for her trial, before coming right back to it. She was so, so scared that it was going to happen to her again, that she was going to go back there. She was terrified that Killian would go down with her, and that they would leave their son all alone.

But she shook her head, suddenly coming back to reality. She had to pull herself together. The situation was too dangerous for her to stay there as she'd just stolen such a precious jewel. She took a deep breath, and turned on her heels to notice with relief that no one had noticed her, and that her little panic attack had only lasted for a few seconds. They were safe. For now.

In a way that she wanted confident, while she was feeling like she was barely standing on her feet because she was shaking so hard, she approached Killian again. He immediately noticed that she was back, and didn't even need to look at her to see that she was feeling awful. He placed his arm around her shoulders, and held her close to him. For the first time, if it made her feel a bit better, it didn't manage to calm down completely. It was too much.

He said in a kind voice, still not looking worried while she could tell that he was internally terrified. "Have you found something interesting?"

"Not really. I'm waiting for you to surprise me."

Her voice had been too small, too shaky to seem innocent. She felt her heart starting to pound even faster, and her cheeks reddened, but she couldn't do anything to control it. The seller met her eyes for the very first time, and he frowned, suddenly looking suspicious.

Biting her tongue to force herself to calm down, she immediately understood that the man knew they had done something. It was a matter of minute now before he discovered that the bracelet was gone, and if he did while they were still there, they were doomed. So she decided to do the last thing she could to seem innocent and give a reason to explain her strange behavior. She didn't have a choice anyway.

She started to shake more obviously, and turned to Killian with tears in her eyes. "I don't feel good at all. Can we go? I think I'm going to be sick."

They hadn't talked about this, but he got her intentions without her having to say anything. As always. He placed his hand on her forehead, and frowned, saying in a deeply worried voice, almost completely convincing : "You seem to be running a fever, darling. We should go, you need some fresh air. You'll feel better when we'll get home, all right?"

He turned to look at the seller and said with such assurance that, for a second, she thought that they were going to be fine. "Thank you so much for your help, sir. We'll come back another time, when she'll feel better."

He took her hand then, not breaking character but still trying to comfort her, and they made sure to walk slowly enough so they wouldn't seem guilty as they were getting out of the shop. They walked past the guards without getting in trouble, and she looked down, still pretending to feel horribly sick. It wasn't all fake, though, because this situation was making her feel so awful.

She forced herself not to start running to get away from there, to get to safety on the Jolly Roger, sell the bracelet, and finally leave. Killian gave her a worried look, and she could read in his eyes the question he couldn't ask her out loud.  _Do you think we're in danger?_  She had a bad feeling about all of this. And she briefly turned her head to look at the shop.

In their misfortune, she had the luck to turn at the right time, barely a second before everything crumbled and their lives changed forever. If she'd turned a bit later, maybe they wouldn't have had the time to run, maybe they would have been trapped there. Maybe their fate would have been completely different.

But she looked right on time, and saw the seller coming out of his shop, his face red, looking furious. She knew what was going to happen. She knew he'd noticed the missing bracelet. She squeezed Killian's hand in hers to silently tell him not to turn as well.

She was aware that starting to run now would only get them in trouble, and they needed these last few seconds where the guards didn't know who they were to be able to get out of this. She suddenly felt less scared, as if she knew that, in that time of emergency, her head needed to stay clear. Between her teeth, she murmured to Killian : "When I'll tell you to, run."

Before he could answer anything or even tell her that he'd got her message, the seller's voice rang in their back as he was yelling. "They have the diamond bracelet! Thieves ! Someone gets the sheriff! Guards, catch them!"

"Now!" She yelled then, and Killian's hand still squeezed in hers, she started to run, probably faster than she'd done in her entire life.

* * *

They ran in the forest for what seemed like forever, without ever letting go of the other's hand. Emma's lungs were burning, the oxygen wasn't reaching them anymore, her legs were hurting like hell, but she was continuing still. She knew she had to get out of there, because the guards were chasing them, and they couldn't get caught, they couldn't let Henry grow up without a family. They were going to be okay. She wasn't even panicking anymore, she was simply seeing the facts. Running, getting on the Jolly Roger and putting themselves in safety.

After a while, as they were almost arrived in their village, they finally decided to stop without conferring. They crouched behind a bush, away from the main path, hidden between the trees so no one could see them, and allowed themselves to catch their breath. A hand placed on her heart beating so fast it could explode, Emma briefly closed her eyes to try and relieve her horribly painful limbs.

She wasn't shaking anymore, despite what they were going through, despite the danger chasing them and the prospect of a life behind bars. Knowing that she didn't have a choice but to find a way out of this, her body had decided to put her fears aside and give her the means to get through this situation. She wasn't going to let them take her, like she'd done the first time. And she had the strange feeling that she was detached from her own body, analyzing the situation without really living it.

She took a second to think about what they could do, and knew that going back to the ship was the best solution they could find right now. She suddenly met Killian's worried gaze, and she took his hand back in hers to comfort him, to show him that they would be all right. They just needed to stay strong.

He took a second to calm himself down before saying something. When he finally managed to breathe slowly enough to talk, he asked in a whisper, scared that the guards were after them and that they could hear them from the main path.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine." She answered with a nod, and she tried to smile at him, because despite his own terror, the first thing he wanted to know was how she was doing. "Are you?"

"I'm all right. Do you still have the bracelet?"

She nodded again and got the jewel out of her sleeve to show it to Killian. It would have been stupid for her to lose it after everything they'd gone through to get it, and she'd held onto it as she was running for her life.

Killian stared at it for a few seconds, as if hypnotized by the beauty of the diamonds, then she placed it back in her sleeve in case they weren't safe and someone was watching them, somehow. Killian looked back up at her, and said, his eyes shinning in worry because they were stuck and could get caught any minute now.

"What's next?" He asked, and she answered right away, not even having to think about it.

"We leave. We don't have a choice. They know our faces, your name, and posters with our portraits on it will be plaster all over this damn town in a few hours. The guards have probably called for backups, and the sheriff must be looking for us, too. So we have to go, now. Do you know someone we could sell the bracelet to once we'll get to the Dome?"

"I don't, but I know we'll be able to sell it easily. And you're right. The most important for now is to get out of here. We'll see what we do next. Are you sure you're all right, though, love?" He insisted, obviously surprised by her reaction, because what she was the most scared of was happening before her eyes, and she seemed almost okay. The truth was that the adrenaline was keeping her up, and she didn't seem to realize how doomed they actually were.

"Yeah." She shrugged. "We just have to go and reach the Jolly Roger without getting caught. And then, we'll… Damn it!" She muttered then, her eyes widening in fear.

"Emma? Swan, what's wrong?" Killian called her, grabbing her hand tighter, worried by her sudden reaction.

She didn't answer right away. Her breathing had got faster again, and she couldn't believe what she'd just realized. In their rush, they had forgotten about a really important detail, and they'd made a mistake, a terrible one. This was going to lead them to a cell, and she cursed herself under her breath, because it was so, so stupid.

In their plan, Killian had kept his identity without trying to hide himself, because it was all part of their strategy. But she was only realizing now how dangerous it'd been. If they'd got away from the village so no one would recognize her, everyone knew the former Captain Hook and, most importantly, his ship. The guards just had to ask to someone in town where the Jolly Roger was, and they were going to wait for them at the harbor, instead of chasing them without knowing where they were going. They were walking right into a trap.

But that wasn't the worst. Their son had stayed on the Jolly Roger, as they'd thought that he was safe, there. But, if the guards got there before them, they would without the shadow of a doubt use the little boy to get them to surrender and lock them up in a cell. And they really couldn't hurt her baby boy, or she didn't know what she could do. No one could touch the people that she loved.

She got back on her feet, and said to Killian, who was still looking at her with a spark of fear in his eyes. "Henry!"

He understood her thoughts immediately, and the spark transformed into pure terror. He was as scared as she was that someone would hurt their little boy. Her heart was still pounding, but she needed to stay calm. Henry needed her to be all right, and keep all her resources to face what was awaiting for them. They needed to get there fast, so these people didn't get a chance to hurt their son.

Killian got back up as well, took her hand again, and they started to run, even faster than they'd done before. They didn't pay any attention to their exhaustion, their short breaths or their painful muscles. They needed to save their son.

They didn't have a minute to waste.

* * *

Emma's senses seemed like accentuated, and the exhaustion wasn't even reaching her anymore. Only one thing mattered now : save their little boy, and get out of there. She knew that the guards weren't following them anymore, but would wait for them at the Jolly Roger. They just needed to get there before them.

She saw the ship appearing as they were still pretty far from the harbor. There was a second of pure relief when she noticed that no one was awaiting for them there, but the dream shattered a second later. She could hear the pounding of several people's steps against the ground, coming from a bit further into the forest. The guards had found their spot, and were just behind them, now. They needed to get the ship at sea before their pursuers could catch them, but it seemed difficult, almost impossible.

So, despite how dizzy she was feeling from having run for so long, she fastened her pace again, Killian's hand still squeezed in hers, giving her the strength to continue. They needed to stay together. It was so important that she didn't even allow herself to panic. She would do that later. Now she had to stay strong.

They understood quite quickly that running as fast as possible wouldn't give them the time to go before the guards reached them. She cursed herself internally for decided to take that break in the forest, because without it, they would have been able to disappear without being seen by anyone. But it was too late now, and wallowing in what ifs wasn't going to help them.

So, once on the harbor, she finally let go of Killian's hand to reach the boarding ramp. She stopped in a controlled skid, and started to scream so the figure of her son she could see on deck would be able to hear her :

"Henry!" His face appeared from behind the handrail, and he was frowning, probably aware that something bad was happening. "Go in your room, lock yourself in and whatever happens, do not get out before you're certain it's safe!"

"What's going on?" He asked, and she saw his eyes widening in fear when he finally noticed the people chasing them, who had almost arrived in the harbor, now. "Mom?" He insisted, fear audible in his voice.

"Just go, it's important!"

He knew at the tone of her voice that protesting wouldn't get him anywhere, and he just nodded before disappearing. She thought she saw a tear rolling down his cheek, and was so scared that he would get in trouble too despite her precautions, but she didn't have the time to worry for much longer.

Their assailants were almost there. She turned to Killian, her chest raising up and down at the fast pace of her breathing. He got the sword out of of its scabbard, and she did the same with the dagger she always carried with her. She stared at the blade, realizing she didn't even know how to use it, even though she had it with her for years, now.

"I've never learned how to fight other than with my fists." She stuttered, and despite Killian's own distress, he briefly placed his hook on her wrist to try and reassure her.

"It's okay, I'll take care of them. Just stay here and make sure that they don't try to get on the ship. I know you can do it, Swan. You can do anything."

She nodded and they shared one last glance, knowing that they couldn't make a mistake, then he turned to face the men that were running to them. She would have wanted to tell him something, that she loved him or that he was the most amazing person she knew, but she didn't have the time to do so. They were entering the fight.

Now that their enemies were close, she could see that the guards were now six, escorted by a sheriff who made a shiver run up her spine. He wasn't the man who had arrested her the first time, obviously, it had been too long, but it was still horribly scary. She'd gone back to the past, and it was horrifying. But she had to fight. She had to protect what she had left.

Killian brandished his sword, and disarmed one of the guard without seeming to make a particular effort. She blinked, terrified for a second that he was going to kill the man. She knew her boyfriend would never have done so without a good reason, but they were being attacked, and he just wanted to protect his family. She just didn't want them to be wanted for murder, too. But he just knocked him out, and countered the sword of another guard as if he'd spent his entire life doing so.

If Emma had been relieved for a second to see that Killian was doing fine, it quickly appeared obvious that they were outnumbered. She would have wanted to get into the fight and help her boyfriend, but she'd never learned to fight with a weapon, her years in the streets only teaching her how to defend herself with what she had : her fists. She also had to make sure that none of them would try to get on the ship to discover Henry and take him as a hostage. She didn't know if she should go or stay, and felt the panic slowly rising in her.

It's when she saw one of the guards, the biggest one, running in Killian's back, his sword ready to behead him, that her body acted on its own to save the man that she loved. She didn't hesitate and didn't even think about what she was doing, her instinct doing the trick. She just pounced on her boyfriend's attacker, and they both rolled on the ground as the man was letting go of a grunt of surprise.

He was way heavier than she was, but hadn't expected her attack. She had the advantage. She quickly straddled him, trying to immobilize him, but he threw his blade in her direction to try and harm her. She barely avoided it so it wouldn't cut her in half, but it still touched her arm, tearing a part of her sleeve and drawing a burning wound on her pale skin.

She let go of a gasp of pain and suddenly felt the rage replacing the panic in her veins. She wouldn't let him hurt her. More importantly, she wouldn't let him hurt the people that she loved. Taking advantage of the fact that he was now disarmed, she dived her dagger deep into the flesh of his thigh. He yelled in pain and tried to make her fall, but she took her dagger back, unleashing a fountain of blood, and sank it into his other leg, just above the knee. His screams were so loud they were ringing in her ears.

She didn't want to kill him, obviously, she just wanted to stop him from hurting her family. Her instinct had taken over her, and she didn't even think that this man was just doing his job, trying to catch thieves. She just couldn't let him harm anyone. He was contorting in pain underneath her, and she got back up to quickly fetch his sword. She banged the handle against the back of his head, and he was left motionless.

She turned to discover that Killian had already put away a few of their attackers. Using his sword as the expert that he was, he never seemed to really be in danger, and there were only four men left when she stood up from her own fight. Every one of them was looking at him, so she didn't have any trouble stunning one of the guards, hitting him at the back of the head, too. Meanwhile, Killian managed to knock his attacker out, and the man fell on his back, his eyes closed.

Only two men were left standing now, and she turned to look at the man she loved with a glimpse of hope appearing in her heart. They were about to get out of here and be okay. They just needed to get rid of who was left, and they could be safe.

But she hadn't noticed the sheriff, still standing, approaching Killian from behind. Her boyfriend was busy fighting against the other guard still conscious, and couldn't see his other attacker. Killian was the only barrier between the sheriff and the ship, and she saw at the cruel spark in the man's eyes that he wouldn't hesitate to kill her boyfriend, so he could get aboard and force her to surrender. She was too far away to act against it, and she stayed petrified, her eyes wide, looking at the sword shinning in the sunlight. The blade ready to kill the man she loved. Her best friend, her soulmate, her everything.

The scream of terror burning her tongue stayed stuck in her throat. It was too much, and she couldn't think anymore. Everything happened so fast. A mix of feelings so strong she felt like she was about to crumble took place in her chest, and a true chaos appeared in her mind. In this confusion, she was sure of only one thing. Killian wouldn't die. He couldn't. She wouldn't let him.

Without notice, as if coming from nowhere, dark clouds appeared in the sky just above the harbor. The thunder rumbled, a flash enlightened their surroundings and tore the blue immensity. In a matter of seconds, the thunderbolt struck, barely a few feet from the sheriff, who turned in a jump, seeming completely panicked.

Emma had no idea of what had just happened. She didn't know why the storm had appeared from nowhere to illustrate what she was feeling inside, and felt the brief and insane instinct that she was the one who had provoked it. But she didn't take the time to ask herself anymore question. She was aware that this unexpected event had offered her the time she needed to save the man she loved, and she didn't hesitate.

She ran to the sheriff, who had turned to face Killian's back again. The latter had won his fight, and turned to find himself face to face with the blade of a sword. It was clear that he was in a very bad position, and the man facing him could kill him in a second. His eyes grew wide, his lips parted, as if he knew what was about to happen and that he couldn't do anything to stop it.

But the sheriff didn't have the time to do a thing. Emma didn't let him. He was too tall for her to knock him out easily, and she didn't think about her actions, just wanting to save Killian. So she brandished the sword she'd stolen from the guard she'd knocked out and, in a swift movement, she dived the blade as deep as possible into the sheriff's back.

The noises of the organs getting punctured by the sword was horrifying, and Emma knew she would never be able to forget those sounds. The sheriff's breathing got stuck, and he let go of a gasp of surprise and pain. She waited a second, then twisted the blade, causing a disgusting noise, and took the sword away from the man in front of her. He stumbled for a second, then crumbled, a puddle of blood growing underneath him.

Dead.

She let go of the sword, which crashed on the ground. He was dead. She'd killed a man, and yet, she couldn't realize it clearly. She was staring at the lifeless body, unable to look away from this form that had been walking and moving a second before. What had happened? What had she done?

But Killian made her come back to reality, taking her hand in his. Before the guilt invaded her completely, he whispered in a very soft, but a bit shaky voice :

"Swan, we have to go."

She nodded and took a deep breath, trying to push her feelings aside. Later, she would think about this later. Now, they just needed to get away from there. She ran up the boarding ramp, as Killian was starting his maneuver to get the ship at sea.

Before going away, she glanced at the harbor one last time, looking at the catastrophic scene underneath her. The noises of the fight had attracted a few people, and a group had formed around the harmed men, and the dead one. She stared at the body again, and the reality of what she'd done finally hit her completely. So hard that, suddenly, she couldn't breathe.

She'd killed someone.

She was a murderer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I had to think a lot before deciding to make Emma kill someone, but she's done so to save someone she loved, like she did in the show to save Henry from Cruella. This also is going to have a big impact for the rest of the story, but things are soon going to get better. I hope you liked this chapter, and see you soon! :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! Here's the tenth chapter of this story! This is a pretty harsh and introspective part, focusing on how Emma is feeling following the events of the last chapter, because I felt like it was important to get through this for the rest of this story. Also, there's a big reference to Game of Thrones in this part of the fiction, because I was watching the show while writing this haha. I hope that you'll like it !

"Mom!"

Henry's scream didn't even manage to make her come back to reality. She was like in a trance. She just couldn't think anymore, her brain was frozen, her legs were shaking. She'd killed someone, without realizing what she was doing, because she'd been so scared of losing the people she loved. But he was dead. Because of her. She'd taken a life. How could have she done such a thing?

Her son threw himself in her arms, but she didn't hug him back. She was feeling like a stranger in her own mind, not believing that she'd actually murdered someone. It had to be a mistake, she would never do something like that. A nightmare, it was a nightmare. It was the only explanation, because she wasn't a murderer. A thief, an orphan, but not a murderer.

But the thoughts that were running through her mind were so vivid.  _You're a monster_ , the little voice at the back of her head was saying, and it didn't feel like a dream. Everything was spinning, her head was hurting, and the way Henry was gripping her waist, as if he were scared that she would disappear, was feeling too real for it to be a dream. She just couldn't do anything anymore. She was lost, completely lost, and was feeling like she was going to implode. It was too much.

Her little boy was too scared to notice the state she was in right away. If he was a perceptive kid, he was sobbing too hard right now to really see what was happening. He was just a child, who'd been terrified of losing the people that he loved, his parents. Stuttering, panting, he said :

"I know you told me to stay in my room, Mom, and I went, but I couldn't stay there. I was hearing you fight, and I came back to see if I could do something to help you. I saw everything, I was so scared that something would happen to you. I'm sorry, I really am, but… these men… Are they dead?"

His words made their way through her troubled mind and hit her like a punch in the stomach. Dead, that sheriff really was dead, and it was all because of her. It hadn't been a dream. She'd killed someone, someone who probably had a family to feed, friends to love, an entire life in front of him. The life she'd stolen from him, like she'd stolen this damn bracelet. He was just doing his job, and if trying to kill Killian hadn't been the right way for him to deal with the situation, she was the one who'd been wrong in the first place. She was a criminal.

Not only a thief anymore. Also a murderer.

The reality of what had happened suddenly hit her, as the last hope that it was all a dream was shattering before her eyes. Her legs were still shaking, so hard that they weren't able to support her weight anymore. She collapsed as the adrenaline was disappearing from her veins, and her knees hit the deck in an awful noise that rang in her ears.

Surprised by this unexpected event, Henry let go of a gasp of fear, trying but failing to hold her up so she wouldn't fall. She was breathing so fast the air wasn't reaching her lungs anymore. Desperate, she wanted to sink her head into her hands, but stopped as a sob was escaping from her lips. Her fingers were sticky, covered in a red liquid that made her whimper. Blood. The blood of the man she'd killed.

Killian was busy sailing the ship, but the noises of her fall alarmed him, and he turned to see her collapsed there on the floor, Henry calling her without getting any answer. She vaguely saw her boyfriend's eyes grow wide with fear, but she couldn't be sure of it. Everything seemed distorted, her son's voice, Killian's face, the world in general. She couldn't tell what was real from what wasn't anymore.

Seeing that she wasn't responding, Killian called for their son to approach him. Henry reluctantly pulled away from her to run into his adoptive father's arms, and in a voice that he wanted steady, the latter said :

"We'll explain what happened later, lad. For now, I'm going to make sure that your mum is all right, aye? I taught you how to sail and I know you're really good at it. So I'm trusting you with taking the helm for a little while. If you have any doubt on what to do, don't hesitate to call me. I'll stay right beside you the all time, okay?"

Henry nodded, tears rolling down his cheeks in silence, and Killian dropped a kiss to the top of his head as he was approaching the helm without protesting. Trusting the safety of the Jolly Roger with a ten-year-old was a bit risky, but Henry was good at sailing, and they didn't have a choice anyway. They had to get out of this cursed place and they couldn't stop, but Killian also had to make sure that she was okay. Which she wasn't. Because nothing was right anymore.

"Emma? Darling, can you hear me?"

She hadn't even noticed that Killian had approached her to kneel on the floor and face her. Her mind had gone blank for a second, and when she looked up, she saw her boyfriend with his hand and hook on her shoulders, trying to get a reaction out of her. His voice was trembling with terror and worry, her behavior was horrifying to him, but she couldn't do anything to reassure him. She was feeling like nothing could reach her anymore. She was scared of herself, and was still processing what had just happened.

It'd all happened so damn fast.

Killian finally gave up on trying to make her say something, because he could guess that she was too shocked to do so. She could see tears rolling down his cheeks, but couldn't even reach to wipe them away. Knowing there was nothing else to do, he then pulled her close to him and wrapped his strong arms around her shaking figure, dropping a kiss to her temple.

His familiar touch and the smell of his leather coat finally allowed her to think a bit more clearly again. She found herself able to move, and she grabbed the back of his jacket as burning tears were escaping from her eyes and wetting his clothes. Face buried in his neck, she cried and cried, not knowing if she would be able to stop one day, not knowing if she could continue to live.

Killian didn't say a thing. He just held her and stroked her hair, caressed her back, kissed her cheek. She was sobbing so hard she couldn't breathe. Everything had crumbled. Nothing would ever be the same. In their pursuit to happiness, she'd taken someone's life. And it would never leave her. Because she was a terrible, awful person.

These were the first words that came out of her mouth when she finally found herself able to speak.

"I killed him." She whispered in a raspy voice. "I'm a monster."

"Emma, don't say that." He protested, his voice broken by her statement. "You're not a monster. It was just self-defense."

"Was it?" She said, pulling away from him to look at him in the eyes. He was crying too, tears wetting his gorgeous face and reddening his eyes. "Because it isn't true, I was wrong. He was just doing his job, and I could have knocked him out, instead of... I didn't think. And I… I..."

"Emma, I know how you feel." he said, cupping her cheek, trying to comfort her the best he could. "But without you, I'd be dead. You saved me. You saved Henry. You just wanted to protect us. You're not a monster. You're the most amazing, perfect woman I know."

He took her back against his chest, and she buried her face in his neck to breathe him in. She was feeling safe in his arms, loved, she was feeling like she wasn't such a bad person after all if such a wonderful man could love her. But his words didn't manage to erase the guilt that was choking her.

Nothing probably ever would.

She still knew that he was right about one thing. Without her intervention, he would have died. She hadn't thought about what she was doing, maybe she could have found a way to save Killian from the sheriff without taking his life, but she hadn't had the time to do so. The only thought that had crossed her mind was that she had to save her boyfriend and her son, because they were her entire world and, without them, the universe would stop. She'd protected those she loved, fiercely, because she couldn't even think about losing them. She'd done what she needed to, to save them.

But it still didn't make things right. Despite those reassuring thoughts, this certitude that, without her, Killian would have died, she still hated herself. She had never wanted to hurt anyone. But now she'd killed someone, and it would stay with her for the rest of her life. The face of the sheriff would haunt her dreams at night, and she deserved it, she thought, because she needed to be punished for what she'd done.

After a long, long while, her sobs started to get weaker, not because she was feeling any better, but because she didn't have enough strengths left to to keep on crying. She just wanted to curl up under her blankets and sleep for the rest of eternity, but she was aware that she couldn't do that. She had a family, and she had to be there for them. Especially now that they were on the run.

Seeing that she was settling down a bit, Killian pulled away once again to look at her. A deep frown appeared on his face when his eyes finally met the wound that the guard had traced on her skin during their fight, heavily bleeding on her arm. The adrenaline had kept the pain away, and she hadn't noticed that the cut was that deep until now.

Killian leaned to gently place his fingers on her arm, trying to see what he could do to stop the bleeding. She barely saw him. All she could think about was what the hell they could do next, now that she was a murderer, now that she hated herself, now that they were wanted for thefts and murder. Killian kept on staring at her wound as she was feeling her heart starting to pound faster again, because she didn't know if they could ever have a future. Finally, he started to talk, but she barely heard him.

"You need stitches, love."

She didn't pay attention to his words, looking somewhere above his shoulder, eyes lost in the blue immensity of the ocean. What was going to happen to them next? Would they be forced to run for the rest of their lives? "What are we gonna do, now?" She whimpered then. "I'm scared that selling the bracelet is too risky, now that everyone is looking for us. We're not even safe at the Dome, maybe the rumor of what I've done will get there. I don't want us to have gone through this for nothing. It's not possible!"

"Emma, breathe." Killian said, in an almost pleading voice. "We'll talk about this later, okay? We'll decide what to do. We have enough food to survive the journey, we're safe for now. But let me take care of you. I'm scared that your wound will get infected if we do nothing. We'll talk later, I promise, but first I have to take a look at this." Seeing that she wasn't answering, he added in a whisper. "Please, Swan. I don't want something to happen to you."

The concern shinning in his eyes drew Emma away from her dark thoughts. He was looking so scared that something bad would happen to her, and she just nodded slowly, showing him that she was accepting his help. She knew that he was right. Her wound was bad and she had to take care of it, even if, somehow, she wanted to punish herself for what she'd done. But she couldn't. Because she had a family and people to protect, and she couldn't let herself die out of guilt.

She saw a very small, relieved smile appear on Killian's face, and he kissed her forehead in a quiet thank you for letting him take good care of her. He briefly walked away to go fetch a needle and thread and be able to stitch her up, and she watched him go, not really knowing what she was feeling.

While he was gone, she looked around her as if she were seeing her surroundings for the first time. Still kneeling on the floor, her eyes met Henry, standing at the helm and looking so focused. He was sailing like the expert he would become one day, thanks to his father's lessons. But as he was careful to take them to safety, she could see that he was still glancing at her out of the corner of his eyes, as if to make sure that she was all right.

It's the expression her son was displaying that made her completely come back to reality. She had to be strong, for him. Because she wanted him to stay a child while he still could, and he couldn't worry about her. And Killian was right. If she'd done what she'd done, it was only because she loved them more than anything in the world. It was wrong and she was ashamed, but at least her son and boyfriend were both safe. She'd killed for them, and she would have died for them in a heartbeat. Because they were her world.

So she forced herself to hide this guilt that was devouring her from the inside, because her little boy needed her. She angrily wiped off the tears that were still rolling down her cheeks, and managed to stand up straight. It was too late, anyway. She couldn't change anything, she couldn't go back in time. She had to learn how to live with what she'd done. It was in the past now, and if her guilt would stay with her for the rest of her life, she had to keep on living.

For now, they had to focus on what they could do. They had to find a plan, figure out how they would be able to live while being on the run. It was all they had left, their last chance, and she wouldn't throw it away.

Faltering a bit because her legs still felt so weak, she walked to her son, who glanced at her with concern shinning deep in his eyes. He seemed so worried of what was going to happen, and she forced herself to give him a gentle smile. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she said in a bit shaky voice :

"Let me, kid. I'll do it."

He took a step back without saying a thing at first, but she could see that he was thinking deeply about the situation. She squeezed the helm so hard her knuckles turned white, but it actually helped her to stay steady and strong for her son. The little boy stared at her for a few seconds, then he finally moved, as if he'd just taken a decision. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and held her very close without saying a word, as if trying to reassure her.

She felt comforted by his embrace, but it only lasted a second. He still loved her, unconditionally, but she felt her heart tightening at the thought that she was setting the worst example for him. Getting fired because she'd punched her boss's son, stealing, and now killing someone. She hadn't meant to hurt anyone, but she was feeling like she was the worst mother on the planet. This little boy was wonderful, he deserved everything the world had to offer, and she was feeling unable to give him the future that he really deserved.

Tears had appeared in her eyes again when Henry started to talk in a small voice, in which every single one of his worries were audible. His arms still tightly locked around her, he said :

"You don't have to feel guilty, Mom, you know. It was an accident, you didn't do it on purpose. I saw everything, I know you didn't have the time to do anything else. That guy would have killed Killian if you hadn't done something. And I don't want to live without Killian."

His comment made her smile through the tears she was trying to ignore. Looking at the blue immensity stretching in front of them, full of possibilities, she dropped a kiss to the top of his head and ran her fingers through his hair. He was right. She'd done something incredibly wrong for a good reason : protect those she loved. Sometimes, good people were doing bad things. Maybe she wasn't such a horrible person after all. Maybe she was just a good soul who'd done a terrible thing.

Killian came back a few seconds later, and threw Emma a questioning glance when he saw her standing there, while he'd left her collapsed on the floor. She just nodded at him to show him that he didn't have to worry about her. She would stay strong for their little boy. She could think about what she'd done later, she could wallow in her guilt and punish herself by thinking about this day where everything had crumbled. For now, she had to stand up and find a way to fix their situation. It was the only productive thing she could do.

Killian offered her a slight smile to show her that he'd got her thoughts without her having to say anything. He didn't comment on the situation, and asked Henry to take the helm again while he was taking care of her. Emma sat down on the steps of the ship, while Killian was kneeling in front of her. Really gently, he rolled up the sleeve of her dress to reach her skin more easily, and she noticed that, if it hadn't been painful before, the wound was starting to hurt quite badly.

With his usual dexterity, Killian prepared the needle for the stitches, and he looked up at her to warn that it was going to hurt. She was ready for the pain, thinking that it was all that she deserved after what she'd done, but the bite of the rum her boyfriend poured on the wound to disinfect it still made her startle. He gave her an apologetic glance and let her take a deep breath before finally starting the job.

He met her eyes again when the needle entered her flesh, as it to make sure that she was all right, but quickly looked back at the thread so he wouldn't lose his focus. Emma violently bit her tongue in order to hide her pain and not worry him too much, trying to convince herself that it would only take a few minutes. To try and escape the moment, she dived back into her thoughts, but carefully left the murder aside. She would deal with that later. Now, she had to find a plan to get away from this horrible, horrifying situation.

They weren't only just thieves anymore. She was a murderer, and everyone who knew who she was would want her locked up. She'd killed the sheriff, the man who everyone respected, the one who was supposed to keep them safe. That was bad, very bad. They would be doomed if someone found them. And they needed to hide, so nothing could break their family.

Selling the bracelet would be risky, but no one knew their faces on the other side of the world. They would surely find someone ready to pay a good amount of gold to get that jewel. So their only solution was to hide their true identities, because if Killian was famous because of his years as a pirate, her name would also be known by a lot of people after what she'd done. She had to keep her loved ones safe.

In a few hours, their portraits would be plastered on every tree of the village that had seen her grow up. Their names would probably be written on the posters too, since everyone knew them there. The only way for them to get out of this was to start anew. Completely. New names, new lives, and maybe they would be okay.

She needed to let Emma Swan go.

She didn't even notice that Killian had finished his task, too deep in her thoughts to feel the pain of the needle in her skin. It's only when he placed his hand on her wrist that she realized she wasn't aching anymore. She met his gaze, and he looked so worried her heart actually skipped a beat. She didn't want him to feel bad, she didn't want him to suffer, so she managed to give him a very small smile. Even if her try resembled more of a wince than an actual grin, she felt him relaxing a bit against her.

In a very soft voice, he started to talk. "Are you all right, love?"

She just shrugged, not wanting to lie to him. She wasn't okay, and pretending that she was wouldn't help them, because he knew the truth, he always knew. "We need a plan, Killian. Something to get us out of here."

"I know." he sighed, and he was looking so exhausted tears of worry appeared in her eyes.

"Look." She then said, meeting his gaze once again. "I know that this is risky, but we should still try to sell the bracelet when we'll get to the Dome. I can go myself, find a merchant or a traveler, someone who would be ready to buy this jewel. They don't know me there, and they'll probably just think that I'm an honest farmer trying to feed her family. We can still get the money to start anew." She was surprised by how assured she sounded, because she really wasn't. But seeing the man she loved so worried was making her want to fight for him. Her feelings would come after, and she would allow herself to cry later. Now, she had to protect her family.

He didn't answer right away, seeming to think about her words. "Swan, are you sure about this?" He finally asked. "After everything we've been through, should we play with fire like that?"

She felt her jaw clenching, her gaze hardened, and she grabbed the bracelet she'd put on her lap while Killian was stitching her up. It was shinning in the sunlight, still utterly perfect, as if what had happened had just been a bad dream. Holding it between two fingers, as if she were scared it would hurt her, she showed it to Killian. She guessed that he knew what she was going to say before she actually said it.

"I refuse for us to have gone through hell for nothing. I..." She stuttered, briefly closing her eyes, the words refusing to come out of her mouth, and a bit muffled when they did. "I refuse for this man to have lost his life so we end up changing our mind because it's dangerous. We're doing this. We don't have a choice anyway. It's this or we start starving and stealing again. I can't do that anymore."

Killian stared at her for a long time after her little speech, and seemed to understand that she wouldn't change her mind. He was scared too, terrified to lose anyone, but he also knew that she was right. They couldn't have done all of that for nothing. "All right, darling. I trust you."

He smiled softly at her, and took the bracelet from her hand to place it in the safety of his coat. When he looked back up at her, dozens of ideas were running through her mind concerning how they could do it to stay hidden from the people chasing them. Her brain was working so quickly, as if to stop her from thinking about what she'd done.

"We need to change our names too." She said, chewing on her bottom lip. "If I'm sure that our portraits won't reach the Dome, because it's just too far away, our names can get there before we do. You know how the rumors work, and they work fast. For our own safety, we have to hide our true identities." She waited for a second before telling her mind, a bit scared that she would hurt the man she loved with her words. "We also have to find you something else than the hook to wear. I know." She said when she saw a shadow crossing his features, because if he was ashamed of his past, the hook was also a big part of his life and getting rid of it would be horribly painful. "I understand, I really do. But if we want to start anew, we have to do it properly. People have to think that we're ordinary people. We have to kill Emma Swan and Killian Jones."

Her sentences were harsh, she knew it, and Killian frowned at the way her voice had hardened on the last few words. He took her hand, their fingers interlacing. He then looked down at his hook and said with a sigh, slowly nodding at her.

"You're absolutely right. I have a prosthetic in one of the cupboards somewhere. We don't have a choice."

She gave him half a smile to show him that she knew how painful this was to get rid of what was making them who they were, as if they'd never existed. Despite how ashamed they both were of their pasts, despite the pain and the heartbreaks, they were still them, and changing that would be hard. But they had to do it. And they were both ready to do anything to save their family.

Killian wrapped his left arm around her waist to calm her down, still holding her hand. He could guess how terrified she actually was behind this armor of assurance. God, he knew her so well.

He seemed to be wanting to add something, but their son's voice rang behind Emma's back, making them startle slightly. He'd obviously heard their conversation and he asked a bit shyly : "What about me?"

"What do you mean, kid?" She asked as he was staring at them, frowning and looking truly worried about their future.

"Do I have to change my name, too?" He said, biting his bottom lip, and Emma could see how painful this possibility would be for him. He was still so young, she just wanted to protect him.

"You'll only have to change your last name." She then decided. "Keep your first name. No one will know who you are at the Dome."

He nodded, looking vaguely relieved, and looked back at the ocean as he was still sailing the ship. Emma sighed and turned toward Killian to notice that he was still staring at her with worry. The scar on her arm had started to slightly hurt again. Her boyfriend stroked her back, then moved to drop a kiss on her forehead, as if to make sure that she was okay. He whispered to her ear, then:

"We'll be fine, now, love. I promise. I won't let anything happen to you. We'll get through this."

After one last glance, he stood up to free Henry from his responsibilities. They spent the entire day on deck, their son snuggled in her arms, the salty ocean air like a promise that, somehow, their future would be better.

During this entire time, images of the lifeless body laying on the ground of the harbor appeared like flashes in her mind, and she had to force herself not to start crying. Henry was in her arm, and her job was to reassure him. She would deal with her feelings later.

Later, she would cry.

Later, she would hate herself for what she'd done.

* * *

The room looked so dark at night

She'd never noticed it before. Even the flickering flames of the candles couldn't keep the darkness at bay, and she was feeling like she was drowning in it.

Or maybe it was just what she was feeling inside. Darkness. The light had disappeared when she'd stabbed this poor man.

Laying on the bed in the captain's quarter, Emma wasn't even feeling strong enough to cry. She'd tried and managed to stay strong during the entire day, standing up for Henry and for Killian, trying to smile, to talk as if everything was okay. As if everything hadn't just crumbled. As if she hadn't taken a life.

But now that she was alone, everything that she'd tried to keep hidden inside was catching up with her. Henry was in bed, sleeping, maybe peacefully for the first time in days. Killian was busy lowering the sails for the night, now that they were far enough at sea to be untraceable if anyone was searching for them. And she was there, with her thoughts, with the flashes of the murder and the darkness in her heart.

Maybe she was going insane.

She was feeling like such a terrible person, and all she could think about was that she should have stayed and let herself get locked up. She deserved it, for what she'd done. She deserved to be punished. And if she knew she'd saved the man she loved, she was feeling like she should have been rotting in a cell right now. She was a danger, for everyone around her. They'd been left without money because of her, they'd got caught because of her, and Killian had almost died because of her.

A little voice at the back of her head was yelling that she'd done the right thing by running away. Killian had told her that he couldn't lose her, Henry needed her. They loved her. She'd just wanted to be there for a family.

But this voice was getting smaller and smaller. She was probably a danger for all of them, after all. Maybe they would be better off without her, maybe the world would be safer without her presence. She just wanted to protect them, and maybe the best way to do so was to let herself get caught. She'd put them in this position, and they would be happier without her.

She was a murderer after all.

"Emma?"

She simply moved her head to look at Killian, who was now standing in the room. She was only half out of her awful thoughts, but guessed at the way he was watching her that it wasn't the first time he was saying her name. She hadn't heard him coming, but didn't say a thing. She just turned to watch the ceiling again. She wasn't sure she had the strength to do anything else anymore.

"What are you doing?" Killian then asked in a very soft voice, approaching her to sit on the edge of the bed. He was looking worried, and knew what was happening in her mind, obviously.

Her answer surprised her herself, but she said the first thing that came to her mind. "Do you think I'm a monster?"

He didn't answer right away, but she felt him stiffening beside her on the bed. He waited for her to finally meet his gaze, then took her hand to help her sit down next to him. She could see the tears that had appeared in his eyes at her question, and he wrapped his arm around her waist. His voice was full of pain when he finally answered.

"Emma, of course I don't think so, darling. I could never think something like that."

"But I've killed someone." She protested. Her voice sounded cold, as if her soul was not the same after what she'd done.

"And you've done so to save me." Killian said, his voice thick with sobs. "Neither Henry nor me will ever think that you're a monster. I've killed people in my past too, you know, I could never see you differently because of what happened. You chose to accept my past, and I'm accepting every single part of you. Bloody hell, Swan, you're the most amazing person I know. I love you, and..."

"Why?" She asked then, as if his last sentences hadn't even made their way to her.

"What do you mean?" He said, shaking his head in confusion.

"Why do you still love me after what I did?"

The sigh he let go of was horribly shaky, as if he were about to start crying. He held her just a little bit closer, and she finally allowed herself to rest her head against his chest. She wanted to punish herself, to break from his embrace because she didn't deserve his comfort, but she also needed to feel better. Needed to feel like she was still the woman she was before, that if she'd done a horrible thing, she could still be a good person, somehow.

"I will never stop loving you, do you hear me?" Killian said then, and she could hear the sobs stuck in his throat. "Emma, without you, I would be dead. You saved me, and I know, gods, I know how painful this situation is. I know you feel like a terrible person, but you're not. You just wanted to protect me. This event doesn't define who you are. Do not let that beautiful heart of yours get shattered by this. You're absolutely perfect, and I'm sorry you have to get through this. I'm so, so sorry."

She sighed against him, and wrapped her arms around him as well, feeling like the weight on her shoulders had got a bit less heavy at his words. At least, he still loved her, and maybe this would help her heal. Because her soul had been broken by the murder of this man, but perhaps, with the help of those she loved, she would manage to get back up. Killian was right. This wasn't defining who she was. She would be stronger than this.

She hoped that she would.

"This is all my fault." Killian continued then, and Emma frowned, feeling like she was suddenly coming back to reality and his statement worrying her beyond words.

"How so? It's not your fault, Killian."

"It is. If I had seen this man coming from behind me, like I should have, if I had heard him, if I had done something, you wouldn't have had to do this. It's my entire fault, and I'm sorry. I never wanted for you to have to go through this."

"If it's someone's fault, it's mine." She protested, looking up to see that he was now quietly crying. Seeing her in pain was killing him, and he just couldn't take it. "We've been forced to steal because I got fired. We've got caught because I couldn't control myself and panicked at the jewelry shop. And we're wanted because I've killed someone. It's all because of me. Not you. Never you. You're perfect." She said, gently wiping off the tears that were wetting his cheeks.

"I could tell the same thing to you, my beautiful lass." He whispered in a broken voice.

"I love you." She then stated, finding it so horrible that he could blame himself for what had happened, because it was all her fault.

"I love you, too. And you're perfect, Swan. Never, ever doubt that."

She didn't answer anything, but stayed in his arms, because it was soothing her and finally making her heart ache a little bit less. After a while, and without knowing how, she ended up falling asleep. She vaguely sensed Killian laying down with her on the bed and, her head still resting on his chest to hear his heartbeats, she dived into her dreams.

Dreams that turned into nightmares.

Suddenly, she was back at the harbor, fighting against the guards. The sheriff was there, and she wasn't in control of anything. She watched herself stab him once, then twice, then over and over again. There was blood, so much blood everything was red. People were yelling around her, telling her that she was a monster, a bad person, and that she didn't deserve to be alive, since she'd taken someone else's life.  _Monster, monster, monster_.

She woke up with this word burning her lips and tears staining her cheeks.

Killian took her back against him in a matter of seconds. He'd obviously not fallen asleep yet, trying to make sure that she was going to be all right. But she wasn't, and she was feeling like she would never be again. Her heart was pounding and everything was aching, the worst of it being her soul. These people were right. She was a monster.

"Shh, love, I'm here." Killian whispered to her ear, gently rocking her against him. "Calm down, I've got you."

"I'm a horrible person." She sobbed in his arms, holding onto him for dear life. "Calvin always said that I was just a thief, and he was right. But now, I'm also a murderer. Eric told the truth all those years ago when he said that I would only bring unhappiness to the people around me. They both were right to hate me all along, they just saw right through me."

"Don't say that." Killian answered, sounding so pained by her words. "They were wrong, so wrong, because you're amazing, Emma. You really are. And everyone who thinks that you're not is wrong or doesn't know you. You're more important than anything, and you're making me happier than I've ever been in my life. Just having you by my side every day is a blessing. I love you, I love you so much. It's going to be all right. I promise."

She didn't fall back asleep that night, too afraid that these bad dreams would come back and make her fall deeper into that hole of distress she was in. But she just laid in Killian's arms and, eventually, his presence managed to calm her down.

She still knew that the face of the man she'd killed would haunt her nights, maybe forever.

* * *

She got up in the morning, feeling totally exhausted by her agitated night. But Killian was still there, watching over her, and seeing the black circles under his eyes, she knew he hadn't slept at all. It wasn't surprising, though. It was so like him, to stay awake to make sure that she was going to be okay. She didn't deserve him, she thought. But she was so, so happy to have him by her side.

As soon as Henry woke up, she forced herself to seem okay for him. Her son didn't need to see her crumble in addition to everything. He'd seen her kill someone. He'd been forced to move out of the only place he'd known for his entire life. He'd been hungry for weeks, and they didn't know what would happen to them in the future. She just wanted to protect him from getting even more hurt.

The day passed in an odd blur. She was still feeling so guilty, even if Killian's gentle kisses and embraces were making her feel a little bit better every time. He could see that she was feeling down, and was doing everything in his power to comfort her.

That evening, they found themselves laying in the bed of the captain's quarter. They were all exhausted and had decided to get to bed sooner, but they were unable to find sleep. Their son didn't seem willing to leave them even for a second, and he looked like he was about to start crying at any given moment. Emma was feeling incredibly bad to have made him so sad, because she just wanted him to be happy. She just hoped that, soon, she would be able to give him everything and more.

She was holding him against her, her breathing a bit uneven as she was once again trying to curb the guilt that was coming to her in violent and painful waves. She had to hide these emotions for her son, so she just held him a bit closer to show him that she was by his side, always, and that she wouldn't let him down.

She'd barely eaten since they'd left the harbor. The only reason why she'd forced herself to ingest something was because Killian had looked at her with eyes shinning with deep worry, and she'd just wanted to make him feel better. Her stomach was in knots, but it wasn't the only reason why she just couldn't eat normally. She was feeling like, somehow, she didn't deserve to keep on living while she'd taken this life. She wanted to punish herself, but she also knew that she couldn't. She had to keep on moving forward, even if it was horribly difficult. She had to do it for her family.

Killian had wrapped his arms around the both of them, holding them close against him. The air in the room was thick with fear and guilt, and it's Henry who broke that silence. As the gentle light of the moon was coming through the window and softly enlightening the place, he said in a small voice :

"I've thought about it, and I think I might have an idea for our new names."

Killian and Emma shared a glance, a bit surprised to hear their son offer something, but more than ready to listen to him. Maybe this would help them to get attached to their new identities, if it was their little boy who'd chosen them.

"We're listening, lad." Killian simply encouraged him in a gentle voice.

"Well..." Henry wavered for a second. "I was thinking about the name Stark. I've read it in one of my books. It's a strong name, and we need to be strong right now. Maybe it can help us."

In the darkness, Emma could see how moved Killian was by this sudden offer. She was, too. She tried but failed to smile at him, and held Henry a bit tighter, dropping a kiss to the top of his head.  _Stark_. Maybe that was it. Maybe their son had just given them the start of their new life.

"It's a very good choice, kid." She said in a whisper. "I love it."

"I think I have ideas for your new first names, too." He said in a bit more confident voice that made her feel slightly better, because he seemed truly happy that his offer had pleased them. "I've read them in a book too, one of my favorite. It's about a prince and a princess, but they're not like any people. What I like about them is that they fight for what they want. They help people who need it and they're my favorite characters. They are heroes. I think you should wear their names. It would suit you."

Emma sighed and briefly closed her eyes, trying not to let her emotions take over her. She was so relieved. Henry was still seeing them as heroes, and it was making her feel so much better about what she'd done. Even if she knew the guilt would never completely go away, her son was still thinking that she was a good person. Maybe she wasn't such a bad mother after all.

"Tell us, lad." Killian said then, and she could hear in his voice how this statement was moving him as well.

"Their names are prince Charles and princess Leia."

Once again, Killian and Emma shared a glance, and they just knew what these names meant. That was it. They had their new identities. Their new life. "Charles, Leia and Henry Stark." Emma then said, tasting the words on her tongue.

It sounded perfect, as if representing the promise of a new life, a good one, one where they didn't have to suffer. As she was saying those names, she knew that they were ready to start anew, to leave the scars of the past behind them. It was all they needed. A new start. To have their shot at happiness.

"The Stark family is coming to the Dome." Killian stated then, showing what these names meant to him as well. "And we'll finally be happy. I promise."

Finally a bit comforted, they all managed to fall asleep a few minutes later. Her nightmares didn't come to haunt her, this time. As if the arms of those she loved were able to keep them at bay.

* * *

It was cold outside.

It was so cold she was shivering, the freezing wind reaching her bones, but she couldn't bring herself to care. She deserved it, she deserved to suffer. Sitting at the bow of the ship, her legs dangling above the sea, she wasn't moving. Somehow, watching the gentle waves crashing against the hull was calming her down a bit.

When she was awake, in broad day light with the two most important people of her life, she was managing pretty well given the circumstances. She would busy herself, helping Killian with the sails, staying with her son, avoiding to think about what she'd done. And she would manage to believe that everything was going to be all right, eventually.

But as soon as the night would chase the sun away, as soon as she would find herself alone with her thoughts, her demons would come back to life, stronger than ever. The face of the man she'd killed, all this blood, this horrible guilt. She was scared to fall asleep, because she didn't want to relive all of this. But she was also torturing herself by staying awake, reminiscing about the same few seconds over and over again.

Sitting right there, she was also thinking about everything that was going to change for them. Everything that already had.

They'd left the only place she and Henry had ever known, and didn't really know what they would find at the Dome. A region that had overcome the loss of an entire kingdom, or little villages struggling to find a place in this world? Killian had traveled all around the world, even in other realms, but he had never approached the Dome since it'd appeared. They were walking to the unknown, unable to guess if they would get a job, if they would starve or if they would manage to be happy.

She was thinking about their new identities, too. She had to let go of Emma Swan, and if she was the one who'd had this idea, it wasn't any less painful. Despite the pain, the heartbreaks, her name was who she was. And now she was Leia Stark, a stranger, someone she hoped would finally help her to be happy. The only thing comforting her was that she was still Emma for Killian and Henry, and maybe it was all that mattered. They were all that mattered.

And, mostly, she was thinking about the sheriff. She didn't even know his name, she didn't know if he had a family, children to feed, if she'd taken him away from people who loved him. She wanted to redeem herself, but had no idea of how she could, given what she'd done. It was so bad, she wasn't sure she would ever forgive herself. It was part of her, now. For the rest of her life, she would have to bear the guilt of killing someone.

And she was the only one to blame for that.

"Emma?"

She startled, only recognizing Killian's voice a second later. She was tensed, as if ready to fight against a danger. Her body hadn't understood that they were safe yet, that she didn't have to fight anymore. But when the man she loved place his hand on her shoulder and sat down next to her, she relaxed a little bit. She turned to look at him, not knowing if he'd woken up because he'd wanted to make sure that the ship wasn't getting into any trouble, or because he hadn't felt her presence next to him on the bed anymore. Probably both.

Killian gave her a worried look and said in a soft whisper. "It's just me, you're safe."

She nodded, but didn't answer a thing. She wasn't sure she would manage to make her voice stay steady, and she didn't want to cry. Not again. She'd cried too much and it wouldn't bring that man back to life. She just had to keep on living.

"Are you all right? You must be cold in here." He said, his hand going down to take hers. "Don't you want to go inside?"

"The sea calms me down." She finally said.

Somehow, these simple words made tears appear in her eyes, and all the pain she'd tried to hide inside of her for the entire day came back to the surface. She felt her bottom lip starting to quiver, and Killian immediately noticed the state of distress she was in. Very gently, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her temple, before saying in a low voice.

"You don't have to hide what you're feeling when you're with me, my love. I know you want to be strong for Henry and me, but telling your pain doesn't erase your wonderful strength. Crying doesn't make you weak. You're the strongest person that I know. The fact that you're aching just prove how amazing you are."

"I'm crying because I killed someone. Doesn't exactly make me a hero." She said in a muffled voice, but she buried her face in the crook of his neck, because he was so comforting.

"You never wanted to kill him, Emma. It was an accident. You did so to save me, because you would do anything for our family. You're human, love, and, sometimes, bad things happen. I've killed countless of people, and it won't ever leave me. It took time because I was blinded by my revenge, but I ended up understanding that it was wrong. And you know how? It's all because you help me be the best version of myself, every single day. You're perfect, Swan, so perfect. And I know it's painful, but I'll be there with you. Every step of the way. Nothing in the world could ever stop me from being by your side."

She sighed in his arms, and held him a little bit tighter. She knew that he was right, that his presence would help her. And if she didn't want to forget, because what she'd done was horrible, she hoped that, one day, it would hurt a little bit less. She hoped that she would be able to lead a life resembling a normal one.

"We'll be okay." Killian said, dropping another kiss to her forehead. "I promise."

She let those words sink in, and stayed for a very long time snuggled into his soothing embrace. The cold wasn't reaching her anymore. She was against him and, on that moment, she just wanted to stay there forever, because it was making her feel like she hadn't completely lost herself.

* * *

The journey lasted another ten days before they arrived to their destination. Ten days during which Emma went from moments of hope to moments of pure despair. Ten days during which she hated herself, then convinced herself that her family needed her. Ten exhausting days where she didn't really know who she was anymore.

Killian was always there for her when she was at her worst, holding her and whispering how much he loved her, promising her that everything would be okay. And at the end of these ten days, as they were vaguely seeing the coasts that would be their new home appearing in the morning fog, she finally felt a bit better. Beside the two most important people of her life, she'd found herself again. She was getting back up.

She'd killed someone, and if she wanted to punish herself for it, she also knew that it wasn't right. She should have found another way to defend Killian, but without her intervention, he would have died. And it was too late now, anyway. Continuing to wonder what would have happened if she'd thought about knocking the man out instead of killing him wasn't of any use. She'd hurt someone, and she would make amends for what she had done by bringing happiness to her family. And, one day, she would totally redeem herself. She didn't now how or where, but she knew she would. It was the right thing to do.

And life seemed to resume itself as she'd taken this decision.

She knew she wouldn't be able to forgive herself, so she chose to accept that. She also chose to stay strong and not crumble for the people that she loved. She wouldn't give up. She would stand up and live, because she just wanted to make Killian and Henry happy.

During these ten days where, luckily, the sea remained calm and the ship didn't have to go through any trouble, she often sat down at the bow of the Jolly Roger. Settled there, she would look at the waves beneath her, feeling so small in this blue immensity, like she could overcome anything. And it helped her, soothed her, and made her believe in the future.

It was there that she was sitting when their destination appeared in front of them. It was blurry at first, and she wondered for a minute whether she was just imagining things, but when it became clear that it was the coasts, she got back up to join Henry and Killian at the helm.

The sight became clearer quite quickly, and she couldn't help herself but let go of a surprised gasp when she finally saw what was standing there. Of course, she'd heard stories about the Dome for her entire life. The people of the Enchanted Forest loved to talk about what had happened the night it had appeared, and she'd seen illustrations of it in Henry's books. But she'd always thought that they were exaggerating things by picturing this dark mass, spreading on dozens of miles and seeming ready to swallow everything coming near.

But it wasn't the case.

From where they were standing, their could see the beach, the harbor, the trees and fields stretching far into the lands. But this sight was suddenly broken by this black mass launching into the sky, so tall it seemed to go higher than the clouds, higher than the sun. It seemed to be crushing everything beneath it, and Emma grabbed the handrail, feeling so minuscule in front of this worrying immensity.

Somewhere underneath this, Snow White, Prince Charming and their entire kingdom were stuck in time, and she just couldn't believe it. She couldn't imagine that someone had made this appear, that it hadn't always been there, because it seemed so threatening and eternal.

Henry came to snuggle beside her, and she wrapped her arm around his shoulder to hold him close. Looking at him, she noticed that he seemed as surprised as she was, his lips parted in fascination. She suddenly realized that he was finally seeing a part of his favorite story in this new reality that was now theirs. The legend of the lost princess was taking its roots there, and he seemed so reassured, even slightly content that they were really there.

Seeing this place meant so much to him, she could see it now. It relieved her, to see that her little boy didn't seem that sad to have left his native region, since they were now in the place sheltering all his dreams. She had a small smile, thinking that, maybe, they would be able to start anew in this place that was so important to her little boy.

"Look, kid. It's our new home." She whispered, and he looked up at her with a bright smile dancing on his lips.

She smiled back at him, feeling more peaceful than she'd been for days. They were there, they'd survived the journey, and despite the fact that they had no idea of what was awaiting for them on the other side, they would be all right. As long as they were all together, they could overcome anything.

She turned to look at Killian, who was still sailing the ship to their destination. He felt her gaze on him, and turned to look at her. A spark of relief shone in his eyes to finally see her relaxed, ready to start their new life. They shared a silent moment, and she lost herself in the blue of his eyes.

Their last days had been awful, horribly painful, but they'd made it. And now, they would be all right. She realized that she was convinced things would be okay from now on. The hardest was behind them, they just had to keep on going.

They were finally ready to live.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay that's it for today! I know this was pretty harsh, but the next part will be much lighter, mostly telling the start of their new life! See you soon! :)


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! Here is this very long chapter, but a lot is happening in it! I just wanted to talk a little bit about how the economy works in the Enchanted Forest before I let you read the next part. Basically, they simply use copper, silver and gold coins, the gold ones being very precious. I hope you'll like this part of the story, and once again thank you so much for all the support! :)

They reached the harbor short after seeing the Dome for the first time. The winter was well settled now, and the first snowflakes were starting to fall from a white sky as they were approaching their destination. It was cold, but the cloaks they'd put around their shoulders were keeping them warm, and they were all too fascinated by these new beginnings to pay attention to the weather.

Emma couldn't believe that only a couple of months had passed since she'd got fired. It'd felt like an eternity, and she took a moment to recall everything they'd gone through in such little time. The way they'd starved, their thefts and, finally, the murder. They were ready to put that behind them, now. They needed to do so, to completely embrace their new lives. From now on, they were the Stark family, and nothing would be able to take their shot at happiness away from them.

They really hoped so, anyway.

They tied the Jolly Roger up at the harbor, praying that nobody would recognize the ship. She was pretty famous, but they'd been careful to hide everything that could make her look like a pirate ship during their journey, and they could only hope that no one would pay attention to them or their boat. They'd done everything in their power to be safe. All that was left to do was to wait and see what was coming next.

Killian had traded his hook for a wooden prosthesis, and if Emma could see that being away from this item that had become a part of him was bothering him a bit, he wasn't complaining. He knew that they didn't have a choice. She'd cut Henry's hair during the journey as it was getting a bit too long, as if to prepare him for this new life in this unknown place. And she'd herself changed her usual dresses for a tunic and linen pants, wanting to look like a farmer for the strangers they would meet there.

It's only as they were ready to step into these new lands that Emma realized they'd unconsciously made all this changes, as if to help them embrace their new identities. New prosthesis, new haircut, new clothes. New people. The Swan-Jones family was gone. The Stark had replaced them without them even noticing it.

It's with a mix of relief and fear that they got out of the Jolly Roger. Relief that they'd made it through the journey without any issues, without getting caught and that they were still alive and well. Fear that their hopes would crumble and that someone would recognize them and change their fate forever. Henry grabbed both his parents' hands as they were slowly walking away from the harbor, afraid of what was going to happen.

There was nothing left to do but to keep on moving forward, though, and they all knew it.

They were tensed at first when they arrived in a little village near the harbor, stiffening each time they would meet someone, wondering if they were being recognized when the citizens would stare at them for a second too long. But they ended up realizing that these looks the people were giving them was because they were strangers in this place, and not because they were aware of what they'd done to get there. No one knew them. They were safe. Finally.

They spent the rest of the afternoon exploring their new region, more and more confident that they would be okay, since no one seemed to be frightened by their presence there. Without the fear weighing on their shoulders, they found themselves finally able to enjoy what would now be their home. They walked for hours, until the sun had long disappeared from the sky, wanting to see everything that was to see, so they could know this place like they'd always lived there.

And, in the presence of the two people she loved most and the safety of this new region, Emma finally managed to let go of what she'd done in her native village. She was still feeling the guilt creeping in her chest, and knew it would probably never disappear, but she chose to leave what had happened to the past. A past she wouldn't forget, but that she had to accept so she could let go. And, with this choice, she felt more peaceful than she'd been in days.

They crossed several wheat fields stretching beyond the horizon, Henry and Emma in awe of these landscapes they'd barely ever seen. In their former region, the villages, the cities and the forest were ruling the place, leaving very little space for fields and grazing lands. They existed, of course, they needed to, but they were so much smaller than what they were seeing now.

Here, between the towns, the fields were huge and numerous. A bit further, when approaching the Dome, a forest was stretching for miles, the trees tall and majestic, their branches covered in white. Everything seemed bigger, brighter, and the snow that was slowly covering the place was only making their visit even more magical.

They were going to be okay, she knew it now.

This part of the world also seemed so much richer than what Emma had been used to for her entire life. Maybe it was all just a facade, but most of the villages they'd expected to meet were actually towns, even if those cities were nothing compared to what was imprisoned underneath the Dome. They'd just grown bigger when the kingdom had disappeared, and seemed to be doing pretty well, considering the roads, the shops, the taverns and the people walking around them and talking loudly in the darkness of the evening.

They would only see the downside of this place later. Now, they were way too excited to start their new life to pay attention to what was really happening around them.

They walked into one of those huge towns, trying to see what was happening in there, and wanting to etch this place into their memories. They needed to find a job there, and she suddenly wondered what they would end up doing. Waitress, merchant, farmer, she was ready to do anything if that meant that they would be happy and safe. That's all she wanted for her family.

They only walked back to the Jolly Roger much later, as the moon was shinning in a starless sky and the snow was continuing to fall in big flakes, ready to completely cover the world. Their minds were filled with all their new discoveries, the animals they'd met in the forest, the fields they'd crossed, the towns they'd visited, and their hearts were full of hope for this new life starting for them.

When she fell asleep against Killian that night, she slept peacefully, without any nightmares, for the first time since the murder.

The next day, the were feeling like different people. It'd really sunk in during the night that they were arrived, that they were able to start anew, that they'd made it. That maybe they didn't have to suffer anymore. Emma and Killian spent a long time just laying in each other's arms, her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeats as he was running his fingers through her blond locks.

"We really did it." She whispered, and he dropped a kiss to her head, holding her so close to him.

"We did, love. And we're going to be happy."

"I hope so." She was about to add that she hoped she deserved to know happiness after what she'd done, but he already knew what she was thinking. He just stroked her back in a soothing gesture that made her sigh, and forget about her dark thoughts. One day, they would be completely fine. They just had to keep on going.

They decided to search for someone who would want to buy the bracelet the very same day. They needed the money, their food supplies were almost completely gone, but that wasn't it. She was feeling like the jewel was weighing in her pockets like a ton of worries. It was holding her back, preventing her from completely moving froward, because always reminding her of the mistakes she'd made along the way. The terrible mistake she'd made by murdering this man.

Carrying this reminder of her crimes was too much, and she was feeling like it would always stop her from being completely happy about their new life. She needed to get rid of it, and she needed to do it fast. They needed that to really let Killian Jones and Emma Swan go for good.

They also knew that they would need time before managing to get a job. They were strangers in this region, they didn't really know how things worked there, and they needed to get used to their new home before finding a place that would offer them something. They needed to hurry to sell the bracelet then, because they couldn't let themselves starve again, she wasn't sure they would be able to survive this another time.

She was more than ready to let go of her past.

They left the ship as the sun had started to rise in the sky, wanting to do everything they could to be able to find a potential buyer. Henry stayed on the Jolly Roger, for his own safety. Going with his parents would maybe seem suspicious to the people they would try to sell the bracelet to, and they preferred for him to stay on the ship since they didn't really know what was awaiting for them out there.

The little boy didn't protest when they asked him to stay there, but didn't manage to hide the worry shinning in his eyes. The last time his parents had gone without him, they'd come back with guards behind them, and it'd ended up with a murder. He was scared of something happening to them again, but they both reassured him the best they could.

"Nothing bad can happen to us here, lad." Killian said, his hand placed on the little boy's shoulder. "We'll be right back, it's a promise."

Their son just nodded and, just like that, they were gone.

They walked for the entire day through the fields and the towns, trying to find people who would look like they could buy such an expensive item. They got back on the ship at noon to reassure Henry, but went right back at it, so they wouldn't lose any time. They really wanted to get rid of the bracelet as soon as possible, and they walked and walked, hand in hand, in silence most of the time, impatient to finally find their future buyer. To finally start to live again.

They found what they were looking for as the sun was slowly setting, painting the sky in orange, pink and red. They arrived in a meadow, a few miles from the harbor, and discovered a strange activity going on there. A camp seemed to slowly be taking place, despite the freezing cold, the travelers probably being too numerous for them to all sleep in an inn. There were people yelling orders, horses and oxen that were probably pulling the dozen of carriages standing in the grass, and tents that were quickly getting set up.

This was definitely a good place to find someone rich enough, the leader of the travel trailers, and sell the cursed bracelet.

Emma and Killian knelt behind a bush so they were invisible to the sentinels' eyes. They just stayed still and watched the hustle and bustle of the camp for a long while, trying to spot the leader and, mostly, to know if they were rich enough to buy a jewel that valuable, and give them the money they needed to be able to live.

Their hands stayed interlaced during this all time, and she pressed his fingers between hers when she noticed the man standing in the middle of the meadow, knowing he was without the shadow of a doubt the leader they were looking for. He was in his fifties, and was wearing fancy clothes and a long red cape, walking in an assured way and giving orders to the people around him. Emma immediately understood that he was the perfect target. She just had to be brave enough to go talk to him.

It was risky, scary, because they didn't know from where these people were. Maybe they were from their former region and had heard about their crimes. She forced herself not to think about this possibility, since it was very unlikely that they'd crossed the entire Enchanted Forest in such little time. Impossible, even. She shared a glance with Killian, still afraid that this decision would be what would make everything crumble once again.

"It's all right, love." Killian whispered to her ear, guessing her fears. "If they do come from our former region, they left way before we stole the bracelet. They don't know us. We're safe, I'm sure of it."

"Do you think this is the right thing to do?" She asked, biting her bottom lip.

"I really do." He answered gently.

They'd decided that she would be the only one to go sell the bracelet, because they were still a bit afraid that Killian's reputation had followed him, and they didn't want to blow their cover. Suddenly, she was hoping that he could come with her and not stay hidden in these bushes. She would have felt better with him by her side, but she also knew that she didn't have a choice. She had to act sooner or later, anyway. They couldn't stay there forever.

It was now or never.

Still hesitating a bit, she saw a young woman, almost a teenager, getting close to the man they were watching, and the lord's face softened. Emma guessed at the way he was talking to her, even if she couldn't hear their conversation, that she was close to him. Probably his daughter. The reason why she'd made all the way with the caravans and her father was and would probably remain a mystery, but she interpreted this as a sign. A young lady would be more than interested by this beautiful marvel she would show her. She needed to give it a try.

Killian had seen the teenage girl as well, and they shared one last silent glance. He knew the plan by heart, and he pressed her fingers between his one last time without saying a word. She understood what he was trying to tell her without difficulty.  _Be careful, love. I love you_. Comforted by his familiar touch, she finally decided to act, and see if they could reach a better life.

Still crouching, she discreetly went back to the main path, as Killian was staying in his hiding place. She got up then, trying to pretend that she'd never left the road, approaching the camp in a way she wanted to seem assured, even if she was a bit scared of what was going to happen next.

She didn't give the sentinels guarding the camp the chance to stop her. She immediately walked to one of the armed men standing there, and he offered her a surprised glance as she was stopping in front of him. He was tall, strong, and she swallowed hardly, remembering the last time she'd met a guard like him and what had happened next. Trying to ignore her feelings, she then straightened, lifted her chin up, and asked.

"Could I speak to the leader of this caravan, please?"

"What do you want?" He said a bit rudely, vaguely suspicious of her behavior.

"I have something that could interest your employer." She answered vaguely, even if she was sure that she would need to give him more before he accepted to let her walk into the camp. If he accepted at all.

"Which is?"

He didn't seem impressed, and she sighed, getting the bracelet out of the little bag she was carrying. The man opened his eyes wide at the diamonds shinning in front of him, and she continued. "This. I'm searching for a buyer. Do you really want your boss to miss such an opportunity?"

"Why do you want to sell something this precious?" He asked, frowning.

"Because I need money." She said, refraining the need to roll her eyes, the conversation making her nervous. "Look, if you don't want to let me in, just tell me right now. I don't have any time to waste. I just thought this could interest whoever is in charge here."

The guard seemed to hesitate for a bit, and she raised her eyebrows, her heart pounding fast in her chest as she was aware that everything could change. She could be allowed to talk to the lord, or she would go home with the bracelet in her pocket and without any money. And she really needed the latter, because starving and stealing again wasn't a possibility.

"What's going on, here?"

The deep voice coming from behind the guard made them both startle. The sentinel turned to face his employer, as Emma was straightening a bit more and clearing her throat, a bit unbalanced by this unexpected event. But she also quickly realized that it was her chance to get what she wanted. The man was standing there, waiting for an answer, and she could talk to him, try to convince him to buy this bracelet that had cost her so much.

Maybe luck was on their side for once.

"Hello, sir." She started, trying to sound more confident than she actually was. "I apologize for bothering you, but I was trying to ask if I could speak to you."

"And what for, if I may ask?" He said, staring at her with suspicion shinning in his eyes. She noticed his hand near his dagger, as if he were ready for a fight. "I don't know you."

"Well, I have an offer that might interest you."

"I'm listening."

Emma took a deep breath, and saw out of the corner of her eyes that the teenage girl she'd noticed before was now walking to join them, looking at her with curiosity. Emma could now see that she was younger than she'd thought in the first place, as she seemed to be barely sixteen. In silence, she came to stand next to her father, and kept looking at Emma with big brown eyes shinning in impatience of what this stranger had to say to them.

"My husband and I own a farm a few miles from here." She lied. "But we're struggling a bit, our products don't sell well, and we're lacking gold. I've started searching for a job in town, but I haven't found anything yet. And we need money, we have a ten-year-old to feed."

"Could you get to the point?" He said, looking annoyed, and Emma blinked in surprise. "I don't have time to waste, and these details about your life don't interest me."

Emma's first impulse was to reply something, to put him back in his place, because he was being incredibly rude to her. She felt the unfairness in the way he was treating her so strongly. He was behaving just like Calvin. Just because he'd been born a rich man and she was just a woman struggling with money didn't mean that he had to disrespect her.

Her heart pounding fast in her chest, she still realized that she would gain more by playing meek than by fighting back. It was her only chance of selling him the bracelet. It wasn't like her, but she was playing a part, and she damn well intended to do it perfectly.

She then looked down to seem falsely sheepish, and showed the jewel she was still holding to the man, avoiding his gaze. She noticed right away that his eyes were staring at the diamonds with a sudden interest, and she said in the same steady and calm voice she'd used before.

"It belonged to my grandmother, and she gave it to me when she died. It's worth a lot of money. I don't have a choice but to sell it, now. Would you be willing to buy it?"

He blinked a few times, seeming to think, and she hoped for a second that maybe he would accept. But he ended up shaking his head, and she held back a sigh of disappointment. "I already have jewels like that and I have other things to do. Go back to your farm and leave my camp, I need to make it ready for the night."

Emma opened her mouth to insist, despite the anger boiling in her veins. He was treating her like dirt, and she would have loved to show him just how wrong he was, but she held herself back, knowing it wasn't the right way to deal with the situation. The images of the murder appeared in her mind once again, and a little voice at the back of her head yelled that maybe she deserved that kind of treatment after all, given what she'd done.

But the teenage girl started to talk before Emma could say a thing, bringing her back to reality. She wondered for a second if these kind of thoughts would continue to haunt her for long, but she started listening to the young girl, guessing that something important was going to happen. Her eyes shinning, a smile on her face, she said in a childlike voice :

"Father, wait, please. This bracelet is gorgeous. Can't I have it?"

"You already have dozens of bracelets like that, Ilana." The man answered, but he seemed more gentle, as if the presence of his daughter was soothing him.

"Not like this one! It's red, and it would be so beautiful with my gown for the ball. Please?" She added, giving him pleading eyes that almost made Emma smile.

She wondered for a bit what it was like to have that kind of life, where everything you ever wanted was handed to you on a silver platter. She'd only known struggles, hunger and cold. She'd never been to any ball, and had had to fight for her entire life in order to survive. But she quickly realized that she wasn't longing for that existence, either. She just needed a bit of gold, and her son and Killian by her side. They were enough for her to be happy.

The lord sighed, but Emma immediately understood that he was going to say yes. He was looking at his daughter with so much pride, his face finally relaxed and open, so different from the man who'd talked to her before. She knew what it was like, to feel so proud of a child, and she knew he would have done anything to make Ilana happy. As she would have done anything in her power to see her little boy smile.

"All right then, darling. If it makes you happy." The father said, turning to look at Emma. "I'll give you ten coins of gold for it."

"Are you joking?" She answered right away, knowing that he would do anything to get the jewel for his daughter. "It's worth at least five times more than that."

"Thirty, then."

"Forty-five, I won't go any lower."

The man held her gaze for a few seconds, as if to see if she was going to get scared and surrender, but Emma was determined to get enough gold to survive for at least a few weeks. This amount would provide them with everything they needed for a long time, and her heart was beating so fast, because if she managed to win the negotiation, she would protect her family, and they would finally be able to live normally.

After a few seconds of silent staring, the man ended up nodding, and Emma almost sighed in relief, but managed to keep on looking as professional as she could. The teenage girl let go of a little cry of excitement, thanking her father, as he was reaching for his purse to give Emma the money he owed her. She handed him the bracelet while taking the leather purse in her hand, and held back a gasp of surprise at how heavy it felt. She suddenly realized she'd never owned that much money before, and tears of joy appeared in her eyes.

That was it. They wouldn't have to worry about money anymore.

Ilana immediately put the bracelet around her wrist, staring at it in awe, as her father was smiling at how happy she seemed. He turned back to Emma then, and she noticed that he wasn't looking as arrogant as he'd been before. He was looking at her almost respectfully, as if he was holding her accountable for his daughter's happiness. She was tying the purse up to her belt when he started to talk again.

"You said you were searching for a job here, didn't you? What are you looking for?"

"Anything, really." She answered, seeing an opportunity to know where she could find someone who would be ready to hire her. "I'm resourceful. I just want to help my family survive."

"Good luck with that." He said with an apologetic shrug, making her frown in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you know?" he said, looking a bit surprised, since he thought that she was living in the region for years. "Ever since the Dome appeared, for what I know, it's not easy to live in this part of the Enchanted Forest. The economy is at its worst given what's happened all those decades ago, and the merchants cannot pay their employees anymore. You'll need courage and a bit of luck to find someone ready to hire you here."

"I can't say that I have a lot of luck, but I do have courage." She answered, trying to hide the crippling fear tightening her chest at the thought that they'd chosen the wrong place, that they would end up starving again. She couldn't believe that they'd come to a region facing an economic crisis. "I should get to work, then. It was a pleasure to meet you, sir."

"Likewise." He said, turning to glance at his daughter for a second. "You do not seem very sad to get rid of your grandmother's bracelet, though." He added, and she held back a wince of fear, terrified that he'd guessed she'd lied to him.

"I never really liked her." She just answered then, before adding to put an end to this conversation that had taken a dangerous turn. "Goodbye, sir"

She turned to walk away from the meadow, trying to stop her hands from shaking. She was all right, he hadn't called for the help of his sentinels and hadn't seemed afraid, just maybe a bit suspicious that she'd lied to him. She was just hoping he wouldn't discover that the bracelet had been stolen in the first place, or she would be in very big trouble. She just forced herself to keep on walking, comforted by the weight of the purse at her belt, telling the tale of a better life awaiting for them, perhaps. If they were being careful, anyway.

She went back to the main path, and waited for Killian to discreetly get away from the bushes and join her behind a tree. She didn't say a thing at first, just showed him the purse she was carrying, and he almost let go of a cry of joy when he noticed how heavy it was. He'd witnessed the entire conversation, but had been too far away to really hear or see what was happening. He wrapped his arms around her, so tight he almost lifted her up from the ground, and whispered to her ear.

"You did it, Swan. God, you're amazing."

She sighed as he was kissing her cheek, but pulled away to look at him in the eyes. Her happiness was darkened by the fear that the lord would end up discovering who she really was, and by the worry that they wouldn't find jobs there either. She just wanted to lead a normal life, and she was scared it would never happen.

As Killian was frowning, noticing that she wasn't as happy as she should have been, she started explaining her doubts to him, everything that she was feeling inside. Her fear that the man knew that she was a thief and would discover that she'd killed someone, and the fact that she didn't know if they would really be able to start anew given the economic status of the region.

He listened to her carefully, and if he looked concerned for a second, he quickly regained his smile. His arms still wrapped around her waist, he said in an assured way that made the weight on her shoulders disappear. "You don't need to worry, love. This man doesn't have any idea of who you are, we're too far away from our former region for that. And we have enough gold to survive for weeks, thanks to what you've just done. We'll figure things out. I'm sure we're going to be all right."

Comforted by his assurance, she ended up smiling back at him, and she put herself on her tiptoe to press her lips against his for a gentle, tender kiss that lasted for a few seconds. Then, with the certitude that they would be okay, they went back to the Jolly Roger, hand in hand, carrying a new hope in their hearts.

Everything would end up being right in the world. They would get to know their happy ending.

* * *

That night, they chose to ignore all the doubts they still had about their future, and focus on the joy of having enough money to survive for a long time and not have to worry about starving again. And they made love, in their little bed, trying to hold their screams back as they were falling into the depth of their pleasure.

They'd had sex since they'd left their former region, sure, but this time, it was different. For the last ten days, they'd always been held back by their worries, her guilt, and the unknown they were trying to reach. This time, they were able to really enjoy the moment, and it was so good Emma literally saw stars as she was digging her nails into the skin of Killian's back.

No matter if they had to let their true identities go while being outside of the Jolly Roger. When they were together, they were still Emma Swan and Killian Jones, and that was all they needed to be okay.

The very next day, they decided to try and search for a job, right away. Their hope of managing to live their dream one day was starting to arise once again in their hearts, this dream that had been forgotten after everything that had happened to them. With the gold they now owned and if they could find a job in the next few days, they would be able to go and live all around the world, someday.

Not right away, sure, they needed to take their time, so what they'd done could be forgotten in the fog of the past. In a few months, a year at the most, they wouldn't be wanted anymore. The Enchanted Forest was quick to forget, the criminals were too numerous to remember every single one of them. They would finally be able to live their dream life then. They just needed to keep on going until then.

Maybe their lucky star had finally found them, and they would be able to do what they'd always wanted.

But after a few days, they realized that the lord had been right all along. Finding a job in this part of the Enchanted Forest was almost impossible. They were trying their best, but were only meeting the apologetic looks of the employers answering that they couldn't do anything for them. They were visiting every town near the harbor, were entering every shop, every tavern, but couldn't manage to find a thing. Nobody was ready to hire them.

The emergence of the Dome had caused the start of an economic crisis that was lasting for almost thirty years, now. Without royalty to rule, the lords had tried to build little empires that had only met revolutions and anger before crumbling due to lack of resources.

If the towns were huge and the citizens numerous, it was to hide the true poverty behind these layers of luxury. They'd been fooled the first time they'd entered one of these cities, too happy to be finally arrived and out of danger, but they could see the reality of this place, now.

The taverns were almost empty, as the people didn't have enough money to go eat in such establishments, and dozens of beggars were wandering the streets, in search of a few coins no one was able to give them. Everyone was carrying some kind of weapon to be prepared for assaults that weren't rare, and only the lords and ladies were staying safe, refusing to give their money to the poor people starving in the streets.

Emma was having flashes of her childhood when seeing those strangers sitting on the ground, looking down with sadness at their empty pockets. She gave a couple of coins to a few of them, but knew that she couldn't do more. She would have wanted to, but they needed this money too, if they didn't want to start starving again. It was making her so sad, to see these people and not be able to really do something for them as she was walking the streets, holding Killian's hand, and she was wondering if they'd taken the right decision to come here.

"It's going to be all right." Killian would whisper to her at night, as she was struggling to find sleep. "We'll stay a bit longer, and if we can't find anything, we can change region again. We have a ship, we don't need to stay here if we're in danger. I promise you everything is going to be just fine."

It's two weeks after their arrival, as they were seriously discussing the possibility of taking the Jolly Roger to move out again, that a solution offered itself to them. They discovered this answer to all their problems while walking the villages around the bigger towns, trying to see if they couldn't find anything there either. And they found it in the middle of the forest, in a clearing hidden between the trees.

The trades were dying, and that's why something much bigger had been born in this place. A bit out of the town that was the closest to the harbor, and hidden in the forest so the authorities couldn't see its existence, a black market was standing, crowded and yet strangely silent. People were talking in low voices, probably so the lords and guards passing by couldn't notice them. And Emma and Killian stood there for a few minutes, lips parted and completely still, wondering what they'd just discovered and how they hadn't heard about it sooner.

People of all ages were offering their services, behind makeshift stalls covered in everything one could ever need. Clothes, food, weapons, books, furniture, everything could be found in this place, ringing with the desperate whispers of people on the edge of poverty. But most of all, what made Emma and Killian sigh in relief, was that everything was cheap, so the people who knew the existence of the place could afford everything they needed.

They didn't need to confer to know that this would now be the place they would visit to get whatever they needed to survive.

For the first few days, they both only went there to buy things to eat and new clothes for Henry. As they were becoming regular clients, they started to talk with the merchants there, realizing that they were only people just like them who just wanted a bit of money. This place had been the solution for them to stay alive, and Emma and Killian quickly became familiar with the people working in this place.

They would never bring Henry with them, though, not wanting for their son to get involved in these illegal activities. But they were so relieved. With this system, they could make sure that they were able to find food without spending too much money, and were delaying their departure for another region. The family was tired, tired of all these false hopes, and they just wanted, for now, to be able to lead a normal life. Until they could reach their dream, they just wanted to be left in peace. Just this once.

After a few more days, it became clear that they wouldn't find jobs in this region that had seemed so promising at first. And it's while talking with one of the man working on the market, Felix, an old gentleman who was selling kitchen utensils that he was making himself, that they found an idea to keep on going. They'd slowly become acquainted with the merchant, moved by the story of his life, and he was the one who offered them the possibility to stay in this region, to earn some money and to keep safe.

"Why wouldn't you sell things here yourself?" He said with a shrug, as they were looking at the spoons on his stall. "That would be a good way for you to get some money, and I'm sure that you have something to offer us."

Killian and Emma shared a surprised glance, wondering how they hadn't thought about this sooner. She knew it was probably because they didn't want to get into more illegal things, but it was obvious that they didn't have a choice anymore. "Why not." Killian whispered to her ear then, grabbing her hand as a new hope was filling their souls once again.

"What could we sell that isn't already available here?" She answered back, looking at Felix and trying to think about what to do next.

They both looked around these stalls, ready to disappear at the smallest suspicious sound, so the rich people would never know about the existence of the market. And, as they were thanking Felix for his idea, and walking between these now familiar paths, they both noticed at the same time what was missing from this place.

The market was offering all kind of meat : Beef, horse, sheep, expect one very important thing. Game meat. No trace of stags, boars or hares, and if Emma had learned something at the tavern, it was that people loved that kind of food.

Maybe they'd found their idea, they realized, as they were sharing another look, mix of hope and relief.

Except that another problem was presenting itself. Killian, with only one hand, couldn't hold a bow to get that kind of product. And she didn't know how to hunt.

She hadn't had the opportunity to learn how to, back in her former region. If only animals had still been living in this part of the Enchanted Forest, she would have worked on this in a heartbeat to be able to bring food back home. But the humans had scared the other beings away, and the life that had once grown between the trees was long gone.

But where they were living now, it was different. The forest was so out of town that human activities were pretty unusual there. In addition to that, the animals had taken the territory back after the emergence of the Dome, since no one was daring to approach the black mass. Stags and boars were easy to find between the trees, and that would have been the perfect solution to all of their problems. If only she'd known how to use a weapon.

But Killian brought the solution to her the same day. They were back on the Jolly Roger, laying in their bed and discussing the possibility of selling things on the black market to save a bit more gold and be able to live their dream, one day. They were wrapped in a tight embrace, their naked skin touching, and she started to talk as they were finally breathing normally again after their previous activities.

"I wish I knew how to hunt. Everything would be perfect if I could go and bring meat back home, you know?"

"If I hadn't lost my hand, I could have helped. I was pretty good back in the days." He answered, and she lifted her head up, raising her eyebrows in question

"You know how to hunt?" She asked in surprise.

"Of course. Haven't I told you?"

She shook her head, ready to hear more about this hidden talent. She wasn't feeling offended by this part of his life that he hadn't shared with her. She knew everything that had really mattered to him, and he'd lived for too many years to really tell her everything that he had ever done. She knew that some details about his life were still a mystery to her, and she was accepting that. He smiled at her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"I apologize for never saying anything about it, love."

"That's fine." She answered, leaning back against his chest to hear his heartbeats. "How did you learn?"

"Back when I still had both my hands and was only a lad, my brother used to teach me how to use a bow, when we weren't at sea. I practiced for years by his side. I really was a good archer."

"Do you think you could teach me?" She asked without thinking about it. When he looked down at her with his eyebrows raised, she sighed, realizing that this possibility would only remain a dream. "Never mind. We need a bow for that."

Once again, he had the solution to their problem, and erased the bitterness in her tone. "I don't see why this is a problem. We still have most of the money we earned by selling the bracelet. We can buy a bow and some arrows."

"This will be expensive." She winced, and he just shrugged at that.

"It's an investment. I know you, Swan." He explained with a slight smile when he noticed her surprised expression. "You learn fast. With a bit of time, you'll be able to hunt well enough, and we'll sell our meat on the market. Wouldn't that be wonderful? We'll be able to have food for ourselves, and to sell the rest. We could really save some gold, here. It's the perfect solution."

"I think your faith in me is a bit too strong." She chuckled, not really knowing if she could learn that fast for the investment to really work. "I've never used a bow in my life. That could take time, time that we don't have."

"Come on now, darling." he gently encouraged her. "You don't give yourself enough credits. You can do it. If I'm being honest, I'm sure that you can do anything you set your mind to. I'm just saying the truth." he added, seeing the skeptical look she was throwing his way. "You amaze me a little bit more every day."

It made her sigh in his arms as she was kissing his collar bones. Sometimes, she was feeling like he was believing in her enough for the both of them. He was giving her so much confidence, she suddenly felt like maybe he was right. Maybe she could do it.

In a quiet thank you for always being so wonderful to her, her mouth found his skin again to trace a path of little kisses down his chest. As she was straddling him, his fingers ran through her hair, and she knew that they were in for another round of pretty enjoyable activities a few minutes after finishing their last ones.

* * *

They went to choose a bow and arrow in one of the shops in town the next day. Half of what they still had from their gold disappeared with this purchase, but it was a very solid weapon that wouldn't break, no matter what they would do with it. It was beautiful, too. Bright red, and the arrows they bought with it were effective and fast. Emma was a bit scared of all the money they'd spent, but they didn't have a choice. It was that, or they wouldn't find a job, and they really needed one.

They directly went to the forest to try the new bow, as Henry was staying on the ship to protect himself from the cold. The snow had slowly melted since they'd arrived, but it was still freezing cold, and they were hoping that, soon, the animals would be back out there and the weather would be a bit less difficult so they could go hunting for real. Until that, Emma had the time to train.

They had to walk a little before getting to their destination. They wanted to get as far as possible from the main paths, they didn't want for anyone to see them, and they approached the Dome a bit more, still staying miles from it so they wouldn't risk getting too close, though. They made sure that they were alone in their spot, then Killian took the time to explain to her what she had to do. Patient, he corrected her position, and they spent hours in the cold perfecting her technique before she tried to shoot for real.

She'd been scared at first, to hold a weapon in her hands. The last time she'd done so, she'd killed someone, and she didn't want to hurt anyone. Despite the time that had passed, the wound in her heart that was slowly healing, the scar was still there in her soul. She was still having moments of pure despair when she was thinking that she didn't deserve anything and that she was a monster. Horrible nightmares were continuing to haunt her at night, and she was forced to relive these few seconds where everything had shifted over and over again. But she was confident, confident that it would eventually get better

As she was aiming for the tree on which they'd placed a target, pulling the bowstring back and breathing deeply a few times, she realized that she wasn't anxious anymore. The bow was so different from the sword that she'd used, and she was feeling comfortable with it. Maybe Killian was right, after all. Maybe she was going to be good at this.

The first few arrows she shot didn't meet the target, but soon enough, they got closer and closer to her goal. Her muscles were hurting, her fingers were freezing from the cold, but she didn't complain once. Focused, she listened to Killian giving her advice and tried to apply his corrections. And she absolutely refused to stop until placing one arrow in the center of the target.

It took hours, hours during which Killian stared at her with pride and a bit of worry at the idea that she was exhausting herself. The sun was starting to slowly set in the sky, but he didn't say a thing. He knew how stubborn she was, and that she wouldn't give up before reaching her goal.

Her arm was shaking, but she aimed and shot for the hundredth times in a row. She knew she needed to learn fast, to quickly be able to feed her family and bring money back home. She just wanted them to be all right.

The arrow went straight to the center of the target.

She let go of a sigh, mix of victory and relief as she was finally letting her arm rest. She placed the weapon back on the floor, and turned to see what Killian was thinking about all of this. It was dark now, but she met one of his famous smile that always made her heart flutter, and this time was not exception. The pride was so obvious in his features that she blushed slightly and smiled back at him.

She opened her mouth to say something, but he didn't give her the time to do so. He took one step forward, wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her to him for a passionate kiss that made her moan against his lips.

She chuckled as he was pressing his forehead against hers, saying against her lips and making butterflies appear in her stomach. "Bloody hell, you're wonderful. Absolutely wonderful, love. You're a natural. You could have been born with a bow in your hands."

"Don't overstate it." She laughed at his words, reddening a little bit more at how proud he was looking.

"I'm not." He said, gently stroking her back. "You're amazing. Do you realize you're going to save our family and allow us to survive? I love you, Swan. God, I love you."

She smiled as an answer, deeply touched by his words, and pulled him back to her for another heated kiss. Maybe he was right, after all. Maybe he'd been right all along. She could do anything, and they would be able to actually start a new life in this place. A new confidence had arisen in her. They were going to be a normal family, and would not have to worry about having enough food to feed their son anymore. It was all that she was asking for, to finally be able to be happy.

Of course, working at the black market was risky, but she was ready for it. With that, they would bring money back home, and would wait until they were sure that no one knew who they were anymore. They could keep their new identities, now that they were used to it, and could finally travel the world and show every wonder to their little boy. They would be happy. Finally.

They came back every day to the same tree, and she trained for hours and hours under the snow, the rain or the cold. Henry came with them as the weather was starting to get slowly milder, and was truly impressed by his mom's skills. After days and days of training, Emma ended up managing to place every single one of her arrows in the target. And they finally knew that it was time.

She couldn't say that killing an animal wasn't breaking her heart. She hated the fact that she had to take another life for her own benefit, and she tried not to wallow in the past and the murder she'd committed back in her former region as they were agreeing on the fact that she was ready to try and hunt for the very first time. They decided that Henry wouldn't come with them, they didn't want him to have to notice her killing a living being. But they also knew that they didn't have a choice. They had to eat and to find money, and that was the only solution they'd found to do so.

Touching a moving target was much more difficult than hitting a tree, she realized. Two weeks after her first training session, she spent the afternoon with Killian, chasing a deer in the forest for hours and trying not to make any sound. After a few missed tries, as it was getting dark, she finally managed to get her prey. She did all she could for the animal not to suffer, she just didn't want to make it hurt more than needed, and they came home with the feeling that their life was changing again, but for the best this time.

The joy of the victory was however a bit spoiled by the bitterness of this life that had been stolen, but Emma knew that she had to get used to it. It would be their way of living from now on, and they really needed that. The animals in the forest were big enough, and they could eat for free while still earning gold. They didn't have to worry about surviving anymore, at least.

The next day, they installed their stall next to Felix's in the black market.

Killian had taken care of cutting the meat in small pieces, and they had a lot of food with them for their first day as merchants. At their greatest surprise, people were very interested by their products. They'd hoped that they would sell well, but what happened was beyond everything they'd expected. At the end of the day, there wasn't anything left, and they had a good amount of copper and silver coins with them. They really had found a job, they realized as Killian was taking her in his arms for a tight hug. They really were going to be fine from now on.

"I told you you could do it, love." He whispered to her ear, under the tenderized gazes of their co-workers packing their stalls to go home. "We're going to be fine, and it's all thanks to you."

"I've had a pretty good teacher." She answered with a little chuckle, her face buried in the crook of his neck.

"I love you, so much, darling."

"I love you too, babe. We'll be all right. "

"I know." He said, hugging her a bit tighter.

They went back to the market twice a week after that. With that schedule, they didn't have to kill too many animals, and they had more than enough to live. They were happy, truly happy. They didn't have to worry about starving anymore, and they were able to sell their meat to people who wouldn't have been able to buy it without this black market that had been born out of despair, and was living thanks to hope.

It wasn't a very safe job, though, everyone on the market knew it. It wasn't rare for one of the merchants to give the alarm, gently whistling to warn everyone of a suspect sound, and, in a few seconds, every stall had been packed and everyone was hiding in the forest. They all knew that, if the authorities learned about this place, they would all get arrested. It was illegal, they were selling their products without anyone's permission, and it wouldn't please the lords and ladies of the region.

Emma and Killian couldn't allow themselves to get caught because of this, and they were always the first ones to disappear from the clearing. They were wanted in another region, and if it was unlikely, one of the lords could recognize them from one of the portraits that were without a doubt still covering the trees of their former village. So they were staying there, behind bushes or lost in the woods, their hearts pounding in fear and their hands linked for comfort, until they were sure that the danger was gone. And then, everything was continuing just the way it had before and, if it was scary, it was also so worth it.

They now had enough savings to offer good clothes and books to Henry, and they were feeling like they were finally leading something resembling a normal life. Their hope of living their dream, one day, was still growing in their hearts thanks to the money they now owned. If they were happy in this place, it still didn't really feel like home. Home would be when they wouldn't have to worry about escaping the authorities or wouldn't be scared of someone from their past recognizing them. Home would be when they would finally be in peace.

But they hadn't been this happy since she'd gotten fired from the tavern, and this wonderful feeling was helping them to move forward day after day.

One day, they would go and visit the world with their son by their side. They would show him every wonder the Enchanted Forest had to offer, and they would never have to worry about money or getting caught and locked up in a cell.

One day.

They just had to be patient.

* * *

Weeks went by, the winter slowly faded away as the green of the trees was reappearing between the branches. These weeks were the calmer that they'd lived for a very long time, despite the need to hide their stall from time to time. They had everything they needed to eat, and they were getting their strengths back after everything they'd been through. They were finally allowing themselves to heal.

Of course, Emma was still feeling so guilty about killing the sheriff, but the time that was passing and their lives that were so peaceful were doing her so much good. She was still haunted by nightmares, but didn't have these moments where she thought that she was worthless and unlovable anymore. She knew who she was, she regretted what she'd done, and she wouldn't let these events define her. She would be fine.

Their lives seemed so normal, compared to what they'd lived after she'd got fired. They would go to the forest to hunt and sell their products on the black market a couple of times a week, and the rest of the time, they would just take care of Henry. She could finally see her son grow up, something she'd never been able to witness because of how hard she was working at the tavern to have a decent life. She was spending time with him and her boyfriend, they were able to save gold for their upcoming future, and everything was just so good. They were slowly reaching happiness, and she couldn't believe it after everything they'd had to face to get there.

They weren't scared that someone would recognize them in the streets anymore, their false identities were enough for them to stay discreet and not risk anything. On the outside, they were Charles and Leia Stark, and in the safety of the Jolly Roger, they were back to being Emma and Killian, two lost souls who'd found each other and were pursuing happiness hand in hand.

But once again, after weeks of calm, everything shifted. Not in a bad way, this time, though. In a surprising way that made them both wonder what the future had in store for them, after all these changes, after all these hardships.

It happened one day, as the spring was well settled in the Enchanted Forest and the birds were chirping in the trees. The weather was good, the wind not too strong, a perfect day to go hunt in the woods. Henry stayed on the ship, reading a book, and Emma and Killian followed their target into the forest for a long time, waiting for the right moment to strike. And, in their focus, they didn't realize that they'd come closer to the Dome than they'd ever done before.

Seeing the huge black mass launching into the sky, standing barely a few feet from them, Emma gently nudged Killian's shoulder to draw his attention. They were too far for it to really be a danger for them, but she was impressed by how huge it seemed from where they were standing. Killian turned with an eyebrow raised in question, and she let her guard down, deciding to forget about the boar they had been chasing until then to admire the Dome with a mix of fear and fascination.

Pointing at it, she said in a low voice : "Look, it's the first time we come this close."

"You're right." He said, looking almost surprised that they'd never explored this part of the forest before. "It looks even bigger from here."

"It's crazy to think that an entire kingdom is stuck in time underneath that." She stated. "It just seems so threatening, like it's going to swallow everything that comes near."

"Everything can still change. Perhaps the lad is right when he says that a Savior exists, and that she's going to break the curse." Killian said with half a smile, kindly teasing her. He liked to annoy both Henry and her with that story, but it would always stay kind and tender. This time however, Emma didn't react

"Maybe, who knows ? I really hope that she exists, though. I hate to think that there are so many people stuck inside this. I didn't know Snow White, but I'm sure that she would tell all of us to stay hopeful. Maybe miracles exist, after all."

"Miracles?" Killian playfully repeated, and she rolled her eyes with a smile on her face. He seemed obviously surprised that she wasn't protesting against his comment about the story she'd never wanted to accept as being real "Did Henry convince you to believe in this tale after all these years?"

"Stop laughing." She said, trying to seem falsely mad, but her smile was too bright to seem convincing. "I think he's dreaming when he says that I'm the lost princess, but maybe the Savior is real. I don't see why he would be wrong about this, you know. Magic does exist, she could have survived."

"What made you change your mind?" He asked a bit more gently, intrigued by her answer. "You were so convinced that these stories were just legends."

She took a deep breath, not really knowing herself when she'd decided to stop refusing this possibility that the kingdom could one day come back to life "I'm not saying that I'm sure about those things. But I'm giving them the benefit of the doubts. I guess I've changed my mind when I saw our new lives. I feel like leading an almost normal life here, after everything we've been through, is a bit of a miracle, don't you think?"

"You're absolutely right." He said, all trace of laughter gone from his tone to be replaced by pure softness. "I like to think about the fact that the princess is real too, and that everything is going to be all right here again, one day. What do you say we take a break here?" He added after a brief silence "Our prey is probably long gone, and the place is welcoming enough."

"Sure." She said enthusiastically.

He gently took her hand, and they searched for a place to stay for a few minutes, before finding a little and gorgeous clearing hidden between the trees. It was dotted with small white flowers, and the sun was enlightening it so beautifully Emma couldn't help but let go of a sigh of pure happiness.

They both laid down on their back in the grass with their smiles not leaving their faces once. Her bow next to her on the ground, she let the sunshine caress her face for a while, enjoying these first moments of warmth since they'd arrived in the region. They didn't say a thing at first, they just looked at the pure blue sky above them, suddenly darkened by the Dome, that seemed so out of place in such a peaceful landscape.

The place would have been absolutely perfect without this black mass crushing everything around it. Emma stared at it for a while, thinking about their lives and those of the people stuck underneath it, thinking about their future and maybe this dream that they would one day accomplish. Finally, she rolled on her side to face Killian and said in a soft voice, making him turn to look at her as well :

"Do you think that one day we'll be able to live this dream and travel from harbor to harbor? I want to visit the world by your side, and I want Henry to see everything that there is to see."

"I'm sure that we will, love." He said with a small smile. "With the money that we have now, and if we continue like that, we'll have more than enough to do so. We just have to wait for a bit, until our past is forgotten, and we'll be all right."

"I really hope so. I mean, I like this place. I love our lives right now, but I feel like we don't really belong here, you know? We belong on the ocean and everywhere in the world, I know that's where we should be. I just hope that, one day, we'll find a real home. Somewhere where we're really happy and we don't have to worry about anything."

"I feel at home here." He just stated with a shrug.

She blinked in surprise, not expecting this answer. "Really? You like this place?"

"I'm not talking about the place, Emma." He answered as if he were stating the obvious. "I'm talking about you. You and Henry. No matter where we are, as long as I'm with you and you're both happy, I'm home."

She felt herself sigh in happiness at this beautiful speech. It was so genuine, and he was so good with words, she didn't even know what to answer. Because she knew that he was right, she knew that as long as they were together and they were healthy, they could be happy. So, as an answer, she did what she would always do in these moments. She decided to show him how much she loved him instead of telling her thoughts, because words weren't her strong suit. He always understood, anyway. He knew her so well.

She then moved, and gently straddled him so she was laying on top of him. He immediately wrapped his arms around her, and she pressed a kiss to his lips, then a second, before whispering against his mouth. "I love you so much, Killian."

She didn't give him the time to answer, dropping a bunch of little kisses on his lips again, her eyes closed and enjoying his strokes with an obvious pleasure. His tongue asked for an entrance that she gave right away, and his hand was making its way under the tunic that she was wearing when a strange gust of wind made them both shiver. It didn't seem natural, and an odd sound rang in the air, making the animals in the forest get quiet. They didn't even notice the subtle changes in their surroundings, too deep into their little world to think about anything else than each other.

But a much louder noise forced them to come back to reality. They both startled and looked up, a bit confused, wondering what the hell was happening. Everything went silent for an endless second, then the ground started to shake violently, making them gasp in surprise.

Killian sat down and wrapped his arms around her, as if to protect her from whatever was happening to the world. The shocks lasted for a few horrible seconds, during which they just stayed still in their embrace. Then, as if nothing had happened and it had all been a dream, it stopped, just leaving them with the silence and their confusion.

"What the hell was that?" She asked, a bit out of breath and her arms still locked around his neck. "You okay?"

Killian didn't answer anything. He wrapped her tighter in his embrace, his eyes lost somewhere above her head, in direction of the Dome. His lips were parted in surprise, as if he couldn't believe what was happening. As she was finally deciding to turn to see what was putting him in such a state, he whispered in shock.

"The Dome..."

She frowned, not understanding what he wanted to tell her. Still holding him, she turned her head to look at the Dome, expecting to see the black mass where it'd been a second before. But her eyes only met emptiness. And her heart missed a beat.

She shook her head, wondering if she'd looked the wrong way, but as she was turning her head all around her, she realized that there was no trace of the Dome. She couldn't understand what was happening, and was thinking that it had to be a mistake. Something that big couldn't disappear from their sight just like that.

She needed a few seconds to understand that all of this was real, and when it was done, she stood up again, imitated by Killian, who took her hand back in his. They both turned on themselves once again, as if to make sure that they weren't mistaking. But they soon had to accept the obvious.

The Dome wasn't there anymore.

"What the hell?" She started, completely confused.

She immediately decided that she wanted to understand what was going on there. Everything was too strange, and she couldn't process it, not yet. The Dome had always been a part of her life, and it couldn't have just disappeared without a reason.

Bending to take her bow and arrows with her, she let go of Killian's hand to run and reach the place where the Dome should have been. She just needed to know, but she stopped when she heard Killian calling her name from behind her, asking her to wait. They shared a glance, quietly wondering what had just happened to them, and started running again. They only slowed down when they reached the first warning sign plastered on a tree, there to remind everyone to stay safe and not try to cross the Dome. No one wanted to be turned into dust after all.

She stepped forward, but was stopped once again by Killian, who placed a hand on her shoulder. He knew what she was about to do, and she could hear at his tone that he was deeply worried. "Emma, please be careful. We don't know what's happening."

She nodded, knowing that he was right, and interlaced her fingers back with his to reassure him. Together, they started moving in silence, trying to keep their distance with where the Dome had previously been standing. They carefully walked to what should have been hidden by the huge black mass, the kingdom that had been lost for decades, and what they discovered made them gasp in surprise.

As they were expecting to meet silence, the sounds of several conversations buzzing in the air arrived to them. They both looked in direction of the noises, and just held each other's hands a little bit tighter as their breathing was getting stuck in their throats.

Before them was standing the fences of a city, the door wide open to show them what was happening inside. People were walking, calling each other, figures she couldn't see clearly were moving, some running, some hugging, sounds of laughter were coming to them, and she just couldn't believe it. Looking up at the little hilltop in the center of the town, her eyes met the beautiful architecture of a castle, overhanging the surroundings.

The castle she'd seen drawn so often in Henry's books.

She had to state the obvious as they were still standing there, too surprised to do anything.

The Dome was actually gone.

Snow White's kingdom was back to life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what do you think about the Dome disappearing, and what do you think is going to happen next? :) A lot is going to change again in this fiction, and I'm very excited about the next parts. Thank you so much for reading, and see you soon! :)


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! Here is the next chapter of this fic, where a lot is changing once again ! How the Dome has actually disappeared is going to be talked about in this chapter (Henry has a pretty strong opinion on the subject hehe). I hope you'll like this long chapter, and thank you so, so much for your support, it really means the world to me, and I'm happier than ever to be writing this fiction! :)

"What was... What the hell just happened?" Emma stuttered, still holding Killian's hand tight in hers, as if wanting to bring herself back to reality. This wasn't happening. That was impossible. There had to be a mistake somewhere.

She blinked a few times, almost expecting the fences of the city to disappear before her eyes. She was convinced that she was going to wake up any minute now, because this had to be a dream. Henry's stories had invaded her sleep, and she was laying in Killian's arms in her bed, ready to acknowledge the fact that it wasn't real. She'd never gone to chase in the forest that day, they'd never had that conversation in the clearing, and the Dome had never faded away.

But everything seemed so real, the colors were too bright and her heart was pounding too fast for it to be a dream. Yet, she couldn't accept the fact that this was her new reality. So she tried to find other ways for it to all be a mistake. Maybe they'd just gone the wrong way and were facing another city than Snow White's kingdom. Maybe they were hallucinating because they'd stayed for too long under the afternoon sun. Maybe this was their minds playing tricks on them.

But none of these solutions made sense. She still couldn't understand how this kingdom that had been missing for decades had just woken up like that, while they were standing next to it, and without any logical reason. A curse as strong as this one couldn't break so abruptly, the Dome would have gradually disappeared if the magic had gone weaker, and it was too insane that they'd been right there to witness all of this.

Why now, while the place had been asleep for twenty-eight years? Why was it happening now that they were there, while it could have occurred while they were on the Jolly Roger or, months ago, as they were still stealing in their former region?

She was looking straight ahead, still trying to process what was going on. Killian seemed as confused as she was, not even looking like he'd heard her previous question. He was too astonished to talk, and was just holding her hand tight in his, as if to keep her safe.

Behind the fences of the city, broken by these huge open gates, people were running to each other. Some were hugging, some were screaming, and the sounds of laughter and sobs of relief were reaching them, as they were still feet away from the kingdom standing there.

She had to admit that all of this, their joy, their relief, sounded too real for it to all be a mistake. At the way they were embracing each other, something in the back of her mind told her that they knew they'd been cursed for the last three decades. She quickly chased these thoughts away, telling herself that she obviously didn't know that, but her instincts were still trying to tell her something that she wanted to ignore.

The situation was too crazy to make assumptions right now. She just had to understand what the hell was going on in this place.

Wanting to know if these people knew what had just broken this curse – she had to accept that possibility, because there was no other option – she took a step forward to go cross these gates and ask one of the citizens their opinion about all of this. She didn't even think about the fact that all of them were probably too shocked to answer her, her desire to understand too strong for the to think clearly.

She so wanted to know, how the Dome had disappeared, how they were feeling and, mostly, what they'd been doing for the last twenty-eight years. Had they been frozen during this entire time, or had they just lived different lives, not really knowing who they were? Had they been aware that they were stuck, and had wanted to try and cross the Dome for years? Had they lived normally, had they been separated from those they loved? She knew they were making history. And she wanted to be a part of that.

Nothing could have stopped her.

Except one thing could.

Someone.

Killian.

He wrapped his fingers a bit tighter around her hand, and gently pulled her back. She didn't feel angry or frustrated, she just looked at him, wondering what he wanted to tell her. She'd been so sure he wanted to know more as well, but the worry she read in his gaze was real. She bit her bottom lip, hating to see him so concerned, and he said in a very soft voice :

"I want to know what is happening too, Swan, believe me. But we don't know what's really occurred here, and it could be dangerous. We don't know these people, or what has caused the disappearance of the Dome. What if the Evil Queen is there, between these walls? What if the Dome comes back while we're there, and we find ourselves stuck in time as well? These things can't happen. We should find out what's really going on before we go to explore the kingdom. We could maybe go to a tavern near the harbor, people will be talking about all of this. We can't risk everything, even if we want to understand."

"Of course, you're right." She nodded, aware that his worries made sense. They wouldn't take that risk without knowing anything about this new situation.

Emma looked back at the city, at the people living in it, feeling Killian relaxing beside her as he knew she'd changed her mind. She couldn't really see their faces, but could hear them and distinguish their somewhat blurry figures. She noticed that the small earthquake had damaged a few of the buildings, but no one seemed to really care. They were all too happy to realize that they were free, and she hoped from the bottom of her heart that it was actually over, that they would live normally from now on. Twenty-eight years of their lives had been stolen. They just deserved to be happy.

Her eyes suddenly met a beautiful scene playing near the gates, and she stared at what she was witnessing in awe. A young woman, maybe a little bit older than she was, was crouching in front of a little kid, almost a toddler. She was embracing him with all that she had, and Emma could almost guess that she was crying, the emotion crackling in the air.

She smiled tenderly at this, at the way the child had wrapped his arms around the woman's shoulders and was burying his face in the crook of her neck, but her good mood suddenly faded away. Her eyes opened wide and, for an awful second, terror took over her completely as she couldn't believe she hadn't thought about something of the utmost importance.

There had just been an earthquake, and if it hadn't been that violent, they still had been shaken up for a second. Afraid. Confused. And her little boy was all alone on the Jolly Roger, certainly wondering what was going on. He was probably scared, terrified that something had happened to his parents. Or maybe he was hurt, the shock could have done something to him. How hadn't she thought about this sooner? Her son was all by himself, and she wouldn't accept that. She had to make sure that he was okay.

"Henry..." She whispered then, sharing a distressed look with Killian. Her heart was pounding almost painfully in her chest, the disappearance of the Dome completely forgotten as only her little boy mattered anymore. She wished she could have transferred herself directly to the ship to hug him tight and never let him go.

She didn't need to say more, Killian had understood. The same expression of fear erased his confused look, and he just shook his head, looking mortified that they hadn't realized they had to get back to their boy sooner. They'd been too surprised, too intrigued, to really remember the earthquake that had occurred. Now that it was done, they just wanted to find their son back. To hold him against them and promise him that nothing would happen to him. They would do anything to protect him.

Without conferring or letting go of each other's hands, they turned their backs to the Lost Kingdom, not giving a damn about it anymore. They immediately started to run in direction of the ship, leaving the people and their happy reunions behind them. The concern, the fear that something had happened to their son, had taken all the place in their hearts. He was their everything, the world couldn't function without him, and they just had to make sure that he was all right.

They ran and ran through the forest, the fields, the villages, never stopping once to catch their breaths that were getting shorter by the minute. They didn't care about the pain in their lungs and the cramps in their limbs, their worry was giving them wings to fight against their exhaustion. After what seemed like an eternity, as Emma's throat was burning and her legs were shaking, they finally arrived in the harbor.

Flashes of her past made their way to her again, as she was seeing herself in the same situation, running to Henry with the bracelet in her sleeve and the guards behind them. She quickly shook her head, though, refusing to think about these moments, and focused on trying to detect her son's presence on the ship, still praying with all her heart that nothing had happened to him.

When she looked up at the deck to try and see if she could find him, she thought her heart was going to explode from relief. She saw his brown hair and curious eyes appear from behind the handrail, and he smiled at them as she was closing her eyes and thanking every gods she could think of that he was okay. Nothing had happened to him. He seemed more intrigued than actually scared, and she just couldn't wait to hug him.

She let go of Killian's hand to run up the boarding ramp, and she barely took the time to stop her race before wrapping her arms around Henry, holding him close to her heart. She was panting, feeling like she couldn't breathe anymore, but she didn't care. The joy of knowing that her little boy was okay was all that she needed to give herself the air she was lacking. He was her world, one of the most important people in her life, and nothing could go on without him.

But he was okay. He was holding onto her too, and if she could refer to his chest shaking and the chuckles coming from his mouth, he was laughing. Killian joined them a second later, and he wrapped his arms around the both of them, so tight, as if he'd been scared to lose them both.

The family stayed wrapped into this embrace for a while, just appreciating the chance they had that they were all okay and together again. Then their son started to talk with laughter in his voice, breaking the quiet moment : "You're both going to end up choking me, if you keep on holding me like that."

Emma laughed through her tears, and she only realized there that she was crying from relief. She pulled a little bit away from him as he was looking up at his parents with a big smile, and ran her fingers through his hair, as if trying to make sure that he was really there. But he was all right, more than that if she could trust his smile, and she could protect him now that he was close. Nothing would happen to him, not on her watch, she wouldn't let it.

She started talking in a muffled voice as Killian had placed his hand on Henry's shoulder, and had wrapped his left arm around her waist, guessing her emotions. "Did you feel the earthquake, too?"

"Yeah. This was strange, definitely. I was a bit worried, because I didn't know where you were, but I'm so glad that you're both all right."

"You have no idea how happy we are that you are okay as well, lad." Killian said in a broken voice. He really had been terrified that something had happened to the little boy.

"We're all together now, and we're okay." Henry said then with a big grin. "No need to worry anymore." He let a brief second pass before asking, his eyes shinning in curiosity. "Do you know what happened?"

Killian and Emma shared another glance, wondering how they could explain what had occurred to their son. Now that they knew he was okay, the mystery of the Dome disappearing before their eyes was coming back to them, and they couldn't wait to know what had really happened for the Lost Kingdom to come back to life.

Emma also knew how her son would feel when they would explain him the events of the day. All of this had been his dream, for years, he'd always been convinced that the curse would be broken by the Savior one day. And if he was going to insist on the fact that she was the Lost Princess and had somehow brought the Lost Kingdom back to the world, she felt so happy to be able to tell him these news. It had been his favorite story for years, after all.

She took her son's hand and gently led him to the steps of the deck, making him sit on them. She settled next to him, imitated by Killian, both surrounding their little boy, as if to protect him from whatever could happen to him. She wavered a bit before starting, not really knowing how she could describe what had happened without lowering the importance of what they'd witnessed. It had been so confusing, and she wanted her son to really enjoy this moment where one of his dream was becoming true.

"Something happened to the Dome, kid." She stated, still holding his hand as he was looking at her with wide eyes. "Everything started to shake and when we turned… It was gone."

"What do you mean?" He cried out, looking like he couldn't believe what she was telling him.

"It was there, like it had always been, and a second later it was nowhere to be seen. It's like it never existed in the first place." She explained patiently, knowing these information were hard to accept, even for the little boy who was the purest believer.

"It's insane." Killian added, shaking his head in disbelief. "We got a bit closer when we saw that it was gone, lad, and the city was there. The lost kingdom. The castle, the citizens, the fences… as if the last twenty-eight years were only just a dream."

Henry frowned suddenly at his adoptive father's words. They were waiting for him to scream his joy, to tell them that he knew all along the curse would end up breaking and that the Savior really existed, but he just seemed deeply focused, as if he were trying to find a reason for all of this to have happened. Emma kept looking at him in silence, waiting for his next reaction, and he ended up saying a few seconds later.

"So you were near the Dome when it disappeared?"

Emma blinked, not expecting this question after what they'd just told him. But she quickly guessed that he probably just needed to be reassured, since he'd been worried for them. She gently smiled at him and answered. "We were, Henry. That's how we saw that it was gone. But don't you worry, we're fine."

"What were you doing before it faded away?" He asked then, all serious and not really paying attention to her last words.

He was so sure of himself, it was like he was on a mission of some kind. Emma and Killian looked at each other, sharing an embarrassed glance at these words. They hadn't expected that, they'd thought their son would have been bouncing up and down in excitement instead of asking them all of these questions about where they were.

She was pretty uncomfortable, given what they'd been doing before the earthquake. They'd been kissing, and they would have gone further if the Dome hadn't disappeared all suddenly. She really didn't want her son to know these details about their day, and Killian offered her a little wince, not really knowing how to react either. He scratched the back of his ear, as always when he was feeling a bit embarrassed about something, and she almost smiled at that. She loved his little habits so much.

Henry didn't seem to care about his parents' sheepish expressions, and he insisted, almost impatiently. "Don't look at me like that, guys. Were you kissing?"

Her wince deepened, and she looked down, knowing he wouldn't accept anything else than a clear answer, and refusing to lie to him. He'd inherited her stubbornness after all. "We, hum… yeah. We were kissing. Why are you asking us this?"

She blinked in surprise when she saw the huge smile that had appeared on Henry's face. Finally, he was having the reaction they'd been expecting, but it wasn't because of the Dome, but because of the fact they'd been kissing before the earthquake. She couldn't understand this strange behavior, and she looked back at Killian, who seemed as surprised as she was. He just shrugged and shook his head, and she bit her bottom lip, trying to guess what was happening inside her son's head.

She was so confused about his reaction and yet, she knew that he had a reason to behave that way. He was a smart little boy, and something had probably crossed his mind, an idea that she couldn't really grasp just yet. Wanting to know more, she asked with an eyebrow raised in question.

"Why are you smiling, kid?"

"Because, I'm… well… No, never mind." He gave up at the last second, and she almost sighed in disappointment, really wanting to know what was going on. "You both wouldn't believe me, anyway."

"Still, please, tell us." She insisted gently. "We want to know."

He seemed to hesitate for another second, and she waited patiently, gently wrapping her fingers a little bit tighter around his hand to encourage him. She knew at his shinning eyes that he wanted to tell them everything, but something was clearly holding him back. She gave him a soft smile to show him that she was ready to listen, and he ended up taking a deep breath to talk.

"Okay, then. But you both have to promise to listen to me until I'm finished. No interruption, all right?"

"It's a promise." She said with an amused smile at his words.

"Well, you wouldn't believe me because it's about the Lost Princess again." She forced herself not to tell him yet another time that she had nothing to do with a princess and that she wasn't the Savior everyone was talking about, because she'd promised. He smiled, seeing that she was holding herself back, and her grin widened even more, knowing it was all worth it if it was making him so happy. "I know you don't believe in those things, and I understand that. You've had a tough life, mom, and I know you can't really see that you're a princess. But the thing is, this princess also is the Savior destined to break the curse, right? She's the only one who can free her parents from being stuck in time. And that's what's happened here. The Dome has disappeared."

He stopped, looking at his parents as if he'd given them everything they needed, and Killian said carefully, frowning in confusion. "I'm afraid I don't follow you, lad. What are you trying to tell us?"

"Isn't it obvious? Don't you find it strange that the Dome disappeared while you were right next to it? And while you were kissing, too? If I've learned something in my books, it's that true love is the most powerful magic of all. The only way to break the curse is to combine the power of the Savior, and a true love kiss. Don't you think it's weird that that's what you were doing when it faded away?"

Her lips parted, and she shared a surprised glance with Killian. It wasn't her son's belief that she was the Savior that was astonishing her, this time. She already knew that he was going to think she was the reason why the Dome had disappeared, and she didn't want to tell him one more time that she wasn't the princess. She didn't want to break his dreams. He would end up understanding that she was just an ordinary woman sooner or later, anyway.

No, what was surprising her beyond words was his statement about the activities she'd shared with her boyfriend in the clearing. A true love kiss? That was big, and seeing Killian's face, she understood that he was amazed too. Sure, they loved each other, so much. They were each other's world, and they couldn't bear the thought of not being together. They could understand one another with a simple glance, and she could tell him everything, she trusted him even more than she trusted herself.

But they also knew that true love was the rarest magic of all. Snow White and Prince Charming had it, but they were special. She'd never thought about the fact a true love kiss could be the reason why the Dome had disappeared. She hadn't even wondered once if it was true love that she was sharing with her boyfriend, the love of her life. It all seemed too big, and it had never crossed her mind.

But the fact that Henry thought they were sharing this incredible bound was so touching, and, for a split second, she thought that maybe he was right. Killian and her were soulmate, and despite the fact she was convinced that they weren't the reason why the Dome was gone, she liked the fact that they could share this magic. Their souls were bound for the rest of eternity, and the love she had for him was beyond everything she could describe. It could as well be true love.

Seeing Killian's eyes shinning in the sunlight, she knew that he was thinking the same thing. They didn't need words to understand each other, and if she wanted to kiss him right there to verify these assumptions, they also knew this wasn't the time or place to do so. They just shared a little smile, and promised each other they would discuss this later. And she couldn't wait to do so.

She nodded then, and got up, smiling at her son. She decided not to try and convince him that she wasn't the Savior and had nothing to do with the Dome breaking once again. She'd tried that for years, and it'd never worked, after all. And after everything he'd gone through, dreaming could only do him good. If he liked that story so much, it was because it was making him a prince. She didn't want to take that last part of innocence away from him. He needed it.

And even if she knew it wasn't real, his story made sense. He'd thought about how the Dome could break, and the way it'd disappeared was so logical according to his standards. She would let him dream about this until he could understand himself that it wasn't real. She just wanted him to be happy.

She then gestured for her son and boyfriend to get up, and said softly. "Come on. Let's go to a tavern and see if we can learn more about what's happening now that the Dome is gone."

"Wait, you're not going to say anything about all of this?" Henry said, as Killian was grinning, amused by his reaction and moved by the fact she was accepting their little boy's story. "You won't try to tell me that this is all wrong?"

"We have more important things to do, right now." She just shrugged.

"Do you mean you finally believe me?" He tried with a hopeful smile.

"I didn't say that either, kiddo." She chuckled. "I just decided to leave you be for now. You should enjoy it while it lasts."

He giggled as well because of her answer, and briefly wrapped his arms around her waist for a hug, before running to the ramp and get out of the ship. He seemed more than ready to understand the mystery that was hiding behind the disappearance of the Dome, maybe wanting to convince his mom once and for all that she was a princess, and was obviously overexcited about the fact they could know what had happened to Snow White and Prince Charming for twenty-eight years. His favorite story was playing before his eyes, and he was so, so happy about it.

Despite their desire to know more as well, Killian and Emma held a bit back for a few seconds. He wrapped his arms around her, and she rested her head on his shoulder, their hearts beating in unison at the new question that had arisen in their mind. Were they sharing true love? Even if they knew they couldn't find out the answer now, he pressed a tender kiss on her cheek and whispered.

"I love you."

She was about to answer him, but Henry called for them, wanting to know what his parents were doing. "Come on, guys, let's go!"

They laughed at their son's eagerness, and she knew she didn't need to say anything. Killian knew how much she loved him, how deep her feelings were. So she just turned to press a quick peck on his lips, sharing one last glance with him, then, hand in hand, they went to join their son.

They would understand what had happened, and they wouldn't go home until they had answers.

* * *

The tavern they chose was crowded. It was standing in the town that was the closest to the harbor, and the agitation they found inside was highly unusual. They'd always known these kind of places almost empty, since the citizens didn't have any money to go drink or eat in one of these establishments. But this time, it was different. There were people everywhere, and the air was thick with excitement and curiosity.

They'd guessed that the news of what had happened to the Dome had already got around town, you just needed to look up at the sky to realize that the black mass was gone, but they hadn't expected to find all these people piled up between the tables. Some sitting on the chairs, some standing, everyone there was talking about the last events, discussing why it had occurred and what was going to happen next. Even the waitresses were stopping at the tables with a tray on each hands, trying to tell their opinion about the Lost Kingdom.

They knew the atmosphere was probably the same in every tavern and shop of the region, and they were aware that generations of people would talk about this day for centuries. History was happening, and it was feeling so strange. Killian and Emma were holding onto Henry's hands in order not to lose him in the crowd, and her boyfriend found a little table in a corner of the room, miraculously empty.

They reached it and sat down, looking all around them and trying to listen to the others' conversations to try and see if they could gather some important information. The people in this tavern were obviously knowing each other, and they didn't feel like interrupting to ask them what they were thinking about all of this. They just listened for a while, and ordered two ales for them and a glass of orange juice for Henry when a waitress passed their table.

As she was bringing them their orders, Emma met her gaze and thought that it was a good time to know a bit more about what was going on. "Does someone know why the Dome has disappeared so suddenly?"

"We have no idea!" She said back, eyes shinning in excitement. "Everyone has their own opinions on the subject, but no one really knows. Isn't it crazy?" She added with a big smile. "This Dome was there for twenty-eight years, and now, probably without a reason, it's completely gone!"

"You're making assumptions when you say there's no reason for it, Camille." An unfamiliar voice said in their backs.

Emma turned to look at who had talked, and met the eyes of a forty-something man, settled at the table next to theirs and surrounded by a dozen other blokes, probably his friends, all looking at the waitress defiantly. They were obviously waiting for a reply, but the unimpressed look the young woman offered them almost made Emma smile. It was obvious that the waitress knew these people, and she wasn't ready to listen to them. Placing her free hand on her hip, she said :

"As long as we don't find a logical reason for all of it, Vincent, for me, this event is an accident."

"That doesn't make any sense!" One of the man next to Vincent said. "It couldn't have disappeared all at once by coincidence."

"We don't know that!" Camille defended herself.

"Well, believe it or not, we think that we might have found an explanation for what happened today." Vincent answered with a proud smile.

"Talk." The waitress simply said, looking at him with her eyebrows raised.

"The Savior..."

He didn't have the time to continue his sentence and was interrupted by a loud chuckle. "Right!" Camille mocked him, and he frowned, a bit disapproving of her behavior. "So your explanation is based on something that is nothing more than a legend?"

"It's not because the kid never gave us a sign that she was still alive that it means she doesn't exist! Everyone knows and remembers that Snow White was about to give birth to a little girl when the curse hit the kingdom."

"Maybe the girl has just been stuck in time with her parents for all those years." Camille shrugged, still not looking convinced.

"Ah! That's where you're wrong!" Vincent said joyfully. "See, rumors are quick to spread in these regions. Several people already went to the Lost Kingdom to interrogate the citizens and ask them what they knew. The royal couple immediately gave a speech after the disappearance of the Dome, to welcome the people back, and no one has heard anything about a baby accompanying them. All we know for now is that Snow White and Prince Charming haven't aged, and that they were just frozen for this entire time, not knowing what was happening to them."

"Well, that's just another proof that the Lost Princess never existed and that she's just a myth people have invented to help the children fall asleep at night. No, stop right there." Camille cut him off when she noticed that he was about to start protesting again. "I have work to do. Keep on believing in those legends if it makes you happy."

"One day you'll see that I was right!" Vincent mumbled, before turning back to the group of men around him, and starting to talk vehemently again. It was obvious that he was preferring to speak with these people who were actually believing him and giving him the attention he wanted.

Emma turned to her son and Killian to see what they were thinking about all of this, just in time to see Henry lean to speak in his father's ear. "It's like mom and I when we quarrel over who knows the truth about these tales."

That made Killian laugh and he playfully fluffed his hair, while she was trying to offer him a falsely mad look. She couldn't keep a straight face when she saw the big smile he was offering her, though, and she just chuckled as well, shaking her head in amusement. She truly loved these moments spent with the two most important people in her life. She was feeling like she belonged somewhere when she was with them, and as the conversation she'd shared with Killian in the clearing earlier that day was making its way back to her mind, she smiled.

He was right. Wherever they were, she was home.

They stayed a bit longer in this tavern, trying to stay discreet while still getting information about what had really happened. What had occurred right before their noses without them understanding it, and what was obviously going to change their lives once again. Maybe for the best, this time.

They left their table a while later, deciding to walk into another tavern to see if the people there knew more about these new events. The same atmosphere welcomed them, but the citizens were still talking assumptions and didn't really know what was going on. They didn't learn what had really happened, but didn't feel defeated, quite the opposite, really.

The region was moving with excitement, and they would come back the next day to see if someone knew anything else. Maybe something would happen until then, and they would end up really understanding everything. They just couldn't wait to know and see what would happen now that the Lost Kingdom was back from twenty-eight years of slumber.

* * *

"So, true love, huh?" Emma started as she was sitting on their bed, looking up at Killian with a smile.

He came to approach her with a matching grin, and settled down next to her on the sheets, ready for a talk. Henry was asleep in his bed, a smile on his face at everything that had happened that day. A lot had occurred indeed, but Killian and Emma really wanted to talk about these feelings their son had. He looked at her so lovingly her heart fluttered, and he said with a shrug.

"I wasn't expecting that one."

"Me neither." She laughed.

They both settled into a comfortable silence for a few seconds. They had so much to say they didn't know where to begin, and they were thinking, their shoulders touching as they were leaning against the wall next to their bed.

"Henry always had faith in us." She finally started, making him chuckle slightly.

"Aye. He's always been sure that we would end up together."

"And he was right. Look at us. We've finally found what seems like stability, we're safe, and we're a family."

"True love still is a big thing." He said, and she turned to face him, frowning. She hadn't expected this reaction coming from him, him who'd always been so sure that they were meant to be together.

"What do you mean?" She asked, her voice a bit colder. She was scared, suddenly, scared that she'd been wrong all along and that he didn't love her as much as she loved him. Due to her past, she was quick to forget about his unbreakable trust in her and all the times he would tell her that she was amazing, all the looks he would give her like she was the only girl in the world.

"Emma, I didn't mean it like that." He said immediately, guessing her thoughts and wrapping his arm around her shoulders to bring her close, and she let him hug her. "Please, I love you. More than anything. You know that, aye?"

"I know. Sorry." She mumbled, a bit embarrassed that she'd let her doubts get the best of her for a split second. "I don't know what's got into me."

"It's all right, darling." He said, dropping a kiss to the top of her head and she snuggled a bit closer to him. "I'm the one who has to apologize, it's not what I meant at all. You're the most amazing person that I know. You're kind, smart, brave, beautiful, absolutely incredible, how could I not love every single part of you? I fell in love with you the moment I saw you in this tavern all those years ago. You're the love of my life, and it will never change. I promise."

She nodded slowly. She knew that, and she cursed herself internally for thinking even for an instant that he wasn't in love with her anymore. They were meant for each other, she knew it, and the way he was treating her wasn't pretend. She was his love, and nothing could break that. Her past was just catching up with her sometimes, all those abandons and heartbreaks, and she just needed to remind herself that Killian was different. He wouldn't break her heart. He would only protect and cherish it.

"What I meant by that." He continued very softly. "It's that true love is the rarest magic of all. I know you love me, and I love you so, so much I can't even express it anymore. But it's so rare, it's a big thing to even think about it."

"Maybe we will never know." She said then, and he held her a little bit tighter. "But I want to believe in it. We belong together. I feel like I know you since the beginning of time. We've faced so much together, and we're still here, loving each other, our feelings only growing with each passing day. I want to believe that we are true love."

He sighed against her, and buried his face in her hair to breathe her in. This was a lot for her, to open her heart like that. For years, she'd been closed off and alone, and then he'd come into her life and he'd broken these walls she'd built around her heart to protect herself. He'd been so patient, understanding, making her see that he wasn't going to let her down. And he hadn't. She was surprised to notice that she wasn't even scared to tell him those things, now. Her fears had invaded her very briefly, but his words sounded so true she couldn't doubt them.

She loved him, and trusting someone with her heart like that was something she was sure to be incapable of not so long ago. But it was before him, before his loving looks, romantic gestures, big speeches and his never-ending trust in her. He'd healed her scars and she was trusting him with everything that she had, with her soul and entire being.

Killian knew how much her words meant, given what she'd had to go through in her life. So he ended up saying in a voice muffled by the emotion. "I love you, Swan. Gods, I love you. You're more important than anything in the world, and I'll gladly show this to you for the rest of our lives. I want to believe that we are true love, too. Because what I feel inside is too powerful to be anything else than that. I love you, I love you, I love you."

He straddled her then, to wrap his arms around her and kiss her senseless, showing her what he was feeling in his heart every time he was looking at her. And she understood it. Pride, trust, love. Absolute, infinite love. And she let herself melt into his embrace, knowing deep down that, if Henry was wrong about the fact they'd broken the curse, he was right about one thing. They were true love. And nothing could never break them.

They spent the rest of the night showing their love for each other, until the first ray of sunshine started to appear in the morning sky. They were still laying wide awake in their bed, silent and their hearts wide open, trusting each other with everything that they were.

* * *

Despite their short night, they were up early the next day to go back in town and try to understand what had really happened to the world. They hadn't slept, but couldn't even feel the exhaustion anymore. They were holding onto each other, with the assurance that they were true love, and the joy that they were both sharing the same feelings. They would probably never knew if this was true, but they didn't care. The simple fact that they were both sure of it was enough.

Henry was ready to go as soon as he woke up, all excited that he was to know more. They all went to the nearest town, and if the taverns were already full, open to welcome the clients so unusually early, they quickly understood that the situation hadn't changed a bit. Nobody knew anything, they were all just trying to guess the truth behind the last events. But they did learn that Snow White and Prince Charming were going to give another speech, a big one this time, the same afternoon and they were aware that they would really know everything then.

They then decided to go on with their lives, knowing that staying in town wasn't useful right now. They would go back that evening, and meanwhile, they could do something productive. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shinning and the wind was pleasantly refreshing the atmosphere without being too strong. It was a perfect weather for hunting, and they thus walked Henry back to the Jolly Roger before leaving for the forest to get their meat and sell it on the black market.

They were so happy to go, enjoying the sun on their skin and each other's presence, but their joy quickly faded away. They unfortunately immediately noticed that the wildlife of the forest had seemed to change during the night. The Lost Kingdom had reappeared for barely one day, but the animals seemed to have disappeared, probably hiding in their shelter, too scared to go outside.

It was logical, she thought, as they were walking in between the trees, still trying to find one bold beast that had been brave enough to come out. Everyone was talking about the Lost Kingdom coming back to life, but the cities were actually several to have been woken up the day before. Further south, there were other kingdoms that were living again because of the Dome disappearing, and this was a big change for all these species. They'd always been used to being the kings of the forest, and now there were all these people screaming and moving around, frightening them.

Emma tried not to think about this, not to think about how this was going to affect them, but she couldn't ignore the changes in her surroundings. They walked for hours before finding a prey, and still, they only harvested two poor hares instead of the deer or bore they would usually bring back home with them.

They chose not to talk about it, but the glances they shared were telling their fears. They had a good life, and they didn't want it to change, not again, not while they were happy and safe. They were glad that the Dome was gone and curious to know what had happened, but if that meant that it was going to affect them, they weren't sure that they liked that idea that much anymore.

Still, they decided to go on the market that day. They didn't want to give up on the thought that they could resume their lives, and knew that their coworkers and the familiar faces of their clients would cheer them up. Maybe it was just temporary and everything was going to be just fine in a few days. They convinced themselves of this, because they were refusing to believe that they would be put in danger once again.

Except that they didn't find what they were expecting.

They were walking hand in hand, their products in a bag, trying to talk about anything but these new observations they'd made in the forest, when Killian interrupted himself in the middle of one of his sentence. They were supposed to have reached the clearing in which the black market was standing, and she shook her head, not understanding what was going on.

Killian frowned, looked around him, and she wondered for a second what the hell was wrong for him to look that scared. Intrigued, she turned to see what he was looking at, and understood right away. Blinking, she tried to convince herself that it wasn't real.

Except that it was.

The place was empty.

It seemed surreal, to see this clearing, usually crowded with people trying to find what they needed, completely deserted. The stalls were gone, and only a few things were laying on the ground, a spoon, a book, a rag, as if abandoned by lost souls. The only audible sounds were the one of the wind in the trees and the buzzing of a bee wandering nearby.

Emma let go of Killian's hand, not believe what was happening before her eyes. Once again, she wondered if she wasn't dreaming, but the fear in her chest was too real. She finally said in a low voice, as if afraid to break the thick silence that had settled around them.

"Are we in the right place?" She was trying to find a reason to explain why this market was so desperately empty, because she just couldn't understand.

"If I'm sure of one thing, it's that it's our clearing." Killian said, looking up at the sky as if it could give them the answers to their questions.

She bit her bottom lip, then a solution presented itself to her, and she grabbed it, trying to make sense of what was going on. "Maybe they heard the authorities approaching and are just hiding? They're probably going to get back soon."

"Perhaps." Killian said, but he didn't seem convinced. She wasn't either, if she was being honest with herself. There wasn't one breathing audible in between the trees, not one sound of steps or bushes being moved. The place was empty, but she was refusing to accept it.

They were about to walk a bit further into the clearing to try and understand what the hell was happening, when steps ringing behind their backs made them startle. They turned back, her hand going to her arrows without her even having the think about it, but she quickly relaxed and sighed in relief when she noticed who was standing behind them.

It was Felix, who smiled at them, but his grin stayed a bit sad. Without conferring, Emma and Killian approached their coworker, who was looking around him as if he'd lost something and was trying to find it. He seemed like he knew what was going on, and if they could refer to the frown on his face, he would without the shadow of a doubt enlighten them on the situation.

"Charles, Leia!" He said politely. "How are you today?" His eyes suddenly fell on the spoon that had been left on the grass and that they'd noticed before, and he carefully crouched to pick it up. "Just what I was looking for." He mumbled with a content grin.

"We're fine, I guess." Emma said, before asking with a frown. "What happened here? Why is everyone gone? Have the guards found the place?"

"They haven't, they're still far away, but I'm surprised that you don't know what's going on." The old man answered with a sad sigh. "With the Dome disappearing, the authorities are walking the length of the forest to prevent any danger. They know some people could take advantage of the fact the Lost Kingdom is back to steal or commit crimes, and they're everywhere. Everyone has decided this morning to stop the market for now. It's way too dangerous, and no one would risk coming here with what happened yesterday, we don't want to get caught. I'm just here to take my spoon back, then I'm gone."

"Do you know when things will go back to normal?" Killian asked, as they were sharing another concerned glance. This was definitely not good, and they hoped that the black market would come back to life very soon.

"Unfortunately, kids, I don't know, and I don't think it will happen any time soon. It's way too dangerous for now. The Lost Kingdom is back, and it also means that jobs are opening in the towns that have been stuck in time for decades. If I'm being honest with you, I don't think the market will one day be what it once was." He said sadly, because it was his way of living, and without it, he would be back to knowing difficulties and hardships.

Emma felt her heart missing a beat, and Killian got closer to her, as if to gently comfort her as he knew what she was feeling. He was probably feeling the exact same thing, and she was so damn worried. They'd finally found a job that was giving them the money they needed, and even if it was a risky activity, they'd been happy for a while. And now, everything was crumbling again.

She was trying not to panic, telling herself that they'd saved a lot during these few months, but that was what she'd believed when she'd got fired from the tavern, and she never wanted to relive what had happened next. This money wouldn't last forever, they wouldn't be able to live for months like that. She was feeling like she'd come back to the day she'd punched Calvin in the face, an eternity earlier, and tears appeared in her eyes. She just wanted it to be a nightmare, and wished that she could wake up.

Felix immediately noticed their fears, and kindly said to comfort them "Don't look so sad, you two. As I said, the reappearance of the Lost Kingdom also means that jobs are going to open there, and that things are going to go back to the way they were before the curse. The economic crisis is going to get better. I'm sure you'll be able to find jobs, you're young and resourceful. I'm too old for that, now, I'll have to find another way, but you, my friends, will be just fine."

"If we can find jobs, then so can you." Emma gently reassured him.

"You're sweet, Leia, but I really doubt that. I just wish for you two to be all right."

"Do you think that it's actually possible to get a job in town, after everything that has happened to this kingdom?" Killian said, wrapping one arm around Emma's waist to press his prosthesis against the small of her back and comfort her. "Everyone is going to run to get these jobs, we don't have a chance."

"Oh, but you do. I'm sure of it. Everything is going to be all right for you."

"I really hope so." Killian answered then, as she was snuggling a bit closer to him. "We have a little boy at home, and we can't stay without a job. But I'm certain everything is going to be all right for you too, Felix. We'll get through this, all of us."

"You're both so kind, and that's what tells me that you're going to be just fine. Life is going to reward you for these sweet words." He winked at them, and Emma's chest tightened a bit more. For a second, she felt so guilty to have lied about everything to this man. Their names, their past, all of this was fake, and she didn't feel like she deserved his friendship. But she forced herself to forget about these thoughts, the situation already being hard enough as it was.

"You're a good man, Felix." Killian answered with a kind smile. "We're going to miss working next to you."

"You too, kids. You were the best neighbours this old man could have wished for."

It almost made Emma smile. Almost.

They stayed in the clearing to speak with their friend for a little while. They were sad to say goodbye, and during this all time, Emma tried to hide her true terror. She was forcing herself not to shake, and the hug she gave Felix as a farewell was almost assured. "We wish you the best, Felix." She said as he was shaking Killian's hand. "We're going to miss you."

"Likewise." He said, before taking a step back, ready to leave the clearing. "Until we meet again."

It's only when he was gone that Emma allowed herself to start panicking. She walked a bit to go lean against a tree, her breathing faster and her legs shaking. She couldn't believe it, she couldn't believe that they'd lost everything again. She couldn't believe they were going to struggle yet another time, and she just wanted to be happy and safe. That seemed like it would never happen. And she was feeling like crying.

Killian was next to her in a second, guessing her feelings. He looked worried too, but he placed hand and prosthesis on her hips to hold her up, saying very gently. "Hey… hey, love, look at me. We're going to be all right. We'll find a solution, we'll get through this, we always do. Felix said it, they're probably asking for new employees everywhere in the Lost Kingdom. We'll find something, I'm sure of it."

"I… It's just that..." She stuttered, trying to hold her sobs back. "I feel like we're reliving the same things over and over again. I'm so scared, I don't want for us to get through this again. I don't want for us to risk our lives, I just want to be happy."

"Swan, breathe, darling. We'll be fine, I won't let anything happen to you." He gently comforted her, drawing small circles with his thumb through her clothes. "What we lived in our former region won't happen again, I promise you this. We have money, a lot of it. And there are animals here, fruits to gather. We won't starve, and we won't have to steal again. I know it."

She was aware that he couldn't know this for sure, but she just wanted to believe him. So she nodded, and looked up to meet the blue of his gaze, instantly soothing her. He offered her a small smile that didn't reach his eyes, and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to him.

"Come here, my love. Everything is going to be okay. Henry is never going to starve again, and neither are we. Maybe we'll be able to even find a real job. Wouldn't that be great?"

She nodded again, and melted into his embrace, her head resting on his shoulder and breathing in his familiar and comforting smell. She didn't know how he was staying so calm despite his own worry about their new position, but she also knew that he wasn't wrong. The situation wasn't desperate, and she just needed to calm down. They had gold, she knew how to hunt, and maybe they would be able to find a real job somewhere. Maybe this was all for the best.

They were into illegal activities by working on the black market, and maybe they would finally be able to have a normal life, without worrying about the guards finding them. Maybe that was their real chance to start again as Charles and Leia Stark.

She pulled a little bit away from him, and opened her mouth to say something, thank him for always being there for her, for being her rocks in these moments. But he didn't give her the time to do so. Smiling gently, he pressed a kiss to her forehead, then a little peck on her lips, and said.

"You don't need to say anything, Swan, you know that, aye? I'm always here for you, like you are here for me."

"Still." She said in a muffled voice. "Thank you for being my rock. I love you."

"Thank you for being the most amazing woman on earth, lass." he answered, finally managing to make her smile. "I love you, too. Now, let's get back to the lad, shall we? We should try to know more about these new jobs. We have work to do."

"That we do." She answered, finally feeling calm in his arms.

He pressed one last kiss to the tip of her nose, then he took her hand and they started walking to their ship, as she was feeling so comforted to have him by her side. Always.

* * *

They didn't go back in town to try and know more about the Dome situation, that day. They were way too focused on how to explain these news to their son. The little boy had known hunger and fear, and they didn't want him to be scared again. They wanted to reassure him, to promise him that they would protect him. And despite their comforting words and their desire to stay positive about the future, they were both so afraid to be unable to keep Henry safe.

It's Killian who explained the entire situation to the little boy, as they'd led him to their room. Emma was sitting in her bed, and he'd climbed on her lap, frowning at his adoptive father's words. He seemed so worried, and she could almost feel him shake against her, what totally broke her heart. He was terrified to relive that horrible part of their lives that had only gotten better a few months earlier, and she tried to stop herself from crying when she felt how scared he was.

"It's going to be all right, lad, I promise." Killian said to reassure him, his hand on his shoulder to show him he would always stay by his side. "We're going to find something else, I'm sure of it. And we'll stay safe, we will do everything to protect you."

Henry nodded and Emma kissed the top of his head, trying to comfort him. He stayed by his mom's side for the entire evening, not even leaving her as they were eating the hares she'd brought back to the ship. She wanted to reassure him, but the truth was that she was actually terrified as well. Killian's comforting words had worked for a few hours, but now she was scared, so scared that they would be back to their old selves, forced to steal because they had nothing left to do.

They all fell asleep together in their bed, that night. They didn't want to leave each other because of their fear, and she'd wrapped Henry in her embrace, while Killian was laying behind her, his strong arms keeping them both safe. As the little boy had finally found sleep, he whispered to her ear.

"Don't fret, my love. We'll be all right."

"I know." she sighed, these simple words already making her feel better. "As long as we're together, we have everything we need, right?"

"Right." he smiled in her neck, before burying his face in her hair to breathe her in.

Miracles do happen sometimes, and the next day, they were all feeling much better. The night had allowed them to rest and they were reassured about their fate. They'd been in that position before, right after arriving to this region, and they hadn't starved or been forced to steal again. They had several advantages now, too. They had money, a lot of it, they knew they could hunt and pick fruits to feed themselves, and the economic crisis was going to get better, surely. They didn't need to be afraid. They'd been through worse.

It's with a smile on their face that they decided to finally go to a tavern, and learn more about the famous speech Snow White and Prince Charming had pronounced the day before. They were curious to discover what they'd said, and couldn't wait to know.

The bustle they found in the first tavern they walked into left them speechless. If people had been excited before because of the Dome disappearing, this was nothing compared to what was going on now. Everyone was standing in a circle, talking loudly and almost bouncing up and down in excitement. People who knew each other were arguing with strangers, and everyone seemed to have an opinion on a subject the family knew nothing about.

Linking their hands together to avoid losing each other in the crowd, they entered the circle formed in the middle of the room, as one man was talking while making big gestures, his eyes wide open in eagerness. She shared a glance with Killian, gripping Henry's hand a bit tighter in hers, and her boyfriend called the man standing beside them. He had to be in his thirties, and turned to them with eyes shinning in enthusiasm.

"What's going on?" Killian asked, and Emma leaned a bit closer to try and hear what the stranger was answering above the conversation noise.

"You don't know? You haven't heard Snow White's speech? You're not going to believe this!" he said when they'd shaken their heads in unison.

"The Lost Princess is real!" A woman said a bit further to their right, listening to them talking. "She was real all along! It wasn't a myth!"

"What do you mean, she's real?" Emma asked as Henry was squeezing her hand, and she could almost feel his excitement at the way he was standing next to her. "You mean she was with her parents during the speech?"

"Even better!" Someone next to them said, but she couldn't really know who had talked, since everyone around them seemed to be getting into their discussion.

"The legend was right!" The first man they'd talked to cried out. "They really did abandon their daughter the day the Dark Curse took place!"

"And now, they're offering their home to the girl who can prove them that she's their daughter!" The same woman added.

"Wait a second, this doesn't make any sense." Killian argued, as Henry was bouncing up and down next to Emma, now. She would have wanted to tell him to calm down, but his favorite story was taking the turn he'd always hoped for, and she knew it was useless. "Everyone can pretend that they're the princess to get the money and the life they're offering by their side. How will they be able to discriminate the liars from the potential real daughter?"

"That's easy!" Their first interlocutor explained. "The time hasn't passed in their kingdom for the last decades, but since the princess has been sent away with a magic wardrobe creating a portal, she has to be twenty-eight, now. So they do know her age."

"This doesn't prove anything." Emma shrugged. "There are a lot of women who are twenty-eight in the world."

"I wasn't finished!" The man said enthusiastically. "The couple is sure that she's near, since they think that she's the reason why the Dome has disappeared in the first place. She's the Savior, after all! But even better, they're the only ones who actually know her name. They've apparently left her a clue so she knew what they'd chosen for her, and the girl who will be able to give them this name and prove that it's her real identity will be considered as being the princess!"

"They're also pretending that they have magical ways to tell the liars from the honest girl too, but I'm sure that it's not true." Another girl who hadn't talked until then shrugged. "It's probably only to chase the dishonest people away. But I'm sure that they'll know it when their real daughter will come to them. People can feel those things, right? It's their baby, after all!"

"Can you imagine!" The man on their right said then. "For all these years, the princess was actually real!"

Emma was far from being as impressed as the people surrounding her, and she just needed to share one glance with Killian to understand that he was thinking the same thing. She knew that the try of the royal couple was probably going to be useless, and was only going to bring them more pain. People would surely pretend that they were the princess to get all the advantages they were offering, while, for all they knew, the baby was dead the same day the curse had occurred.

Now that it was sure the princess had once existed, nothing was proving that she was still alive. She'd been placed in a magical wardrobe after all, and had landed god knows where in the forest. The chances of this newborn surviving this trip were definitely very low. It was making her sad, though, to think about those things. This poor baby had just been caught in stories that weren't concerning her, and she was probably gone for long. The king and queen of the Lost Kingdom were going to get hurt because of it, and even though she didn't know them, it was genuinely saddening her.

She got interrupted in her thoughts by Henry, who was trying to draw her attention by calling her name and pulling on her tunic. She looked down to see what he wanted to tell her, and knew right away than it wasn't going to please her. He was happy and she was glad to see him smile, but he was going to insist on the fact that she was the Lost Princess again, and she didn't want that, she just wanted him to understand that it wasn't real.

"You should go talk to Snow White and Prince Charming and tell them that you're their daughter!"

"Henry, no!" She answered, shaking her head. She'd wanted to let her son believe in those things after everything they'd been through, but she would put her limits there. She didn't want to hurt anyone, and he had to understand that, if it was true that the princess had once been real, she wasn't this Savior he was seeing in her. "There's no way I'll go to these poor people who've already suffered so much and tell them that I'm their long lost daughter. You have a good heart, kid, and I know you don't want to make anyone sad. Don't you see how much it's going to cause them pain, to see me pretend that I'm their baby?"

"But you are, you won't hurt them!" He insisted, and he cut her off as she was about to argue again. "Isn't it strange that you were born the day of the Dark Curse, that you're an orphan, and that the Dome disappeared when you were close to it?"

"It's just a coincidence, all of it, Henry." she sighed, knowing that his clues were making sense, but sure that she wasn't a princess, not at all.

"But, mom..." he pleaded

"No." She said in a cold voice that made him blink in surprise, because she wasn't getting mad at him very often, and he knew he'd gone to far. She didn't want to be angry at him, but now that everyone knew the Lost Princess had existed for sure, he needed to understand that none of this was real and that she wasn't a Savior. "I'm not a princess, Henry, how many times do I have to tell you this?"

"Swan?" Killian called her then, and she looked up at him, suddenly intrigued.

He hadn't tried to enter the conversation, knowing this was something between her and Henry, but she knew he'd listened to them carefully. Now, however, he was staring at something in front of him, looking focused, and she knew that he wanted to tell her something important. She forgot about her conversation with her son then, taking his hand back in hers so she wouldn't risk losing him in the crowd.

Killian gestured for someone talking not so far from them, and she finally was able to hear what the guy was saying. "… All of this is insane! I can't believe it!"

"Can't believe what?" She asked then, curious. "I've missed the last part of the conversation, apparently."

He turned to her, looking incredibly happy to be able to tell his news one more time. "They also said they're going to organize an interview for a new job in their castle. They want to find a help, someone who would be taking care of the princess. I know Snow White has one too, it's a lady who goes everywhere with her, advising her and taking care of how she dresses. They want one for their daughter, so she will immediately feel at home when she'll join them in their castle. That is such an amazing opportunity! Can you imagine, working next to the queen?"

Killian and Emma turned to look at each other, their eyes wide, and she slowly saw a smirk appearing on her boyfriend's lips. They were thinking about the same thing, the same crazy idea had crossed their mind, and they couldn't believe their chance. It was insane, impossible, even. Except that they'd been through much worse, and maybe they could actually do it. They felt like they were strong enough to do anything as long as they were together.

It had to be a sign, that these information were coming to them as they'd just lost their jobs. They had no idea of what they would do next, and it was presenting itself, this crazy, amazing opportunity, the one of a lifetime. It meant working next to the royal couple, something everyone wanted, but it also probably came with a very high wage. With that, they could feed themselves easily, while still saving to live their dream on the Jolly Roger, one day, without needing to worry about starving ever again.

It was insane, she knew it, but she was feeling like their solution was there. Killian had been right all along, she felt like, as he was approaching her to wrap his arms around her for a tight hug. They would really be okay.

Everything was going to be right in the world again.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! I'm so sorry this update took so long, but I got sick and the fact this chapter is insanely long didn't help! March is going to be a crazy month for me, so the next chapter will probably come in a couple of weeks too. I'll try to do my best to update as soon as possible though! I really hope you'll like this chapter, as pretty important things are happening in it once again. Enjoy! :)

"Emma, are you sure that this is what you want? I won't ever force you to do anything, love, you know that, aye? If you feel too uncomfortable, if your instincts tell you that this isn't right, there's a reason for it. We'll find another solution. Do not feel obligated to do anything, please."

Emma was pacing back and forth in the captain's quarter, nervously playing with Killian's ring around her neck as she didn't know what to do with herself. She was worried, it was the least she could say, but she still stopped when she heard her boyfriend's words, looking at him with a frown. He was sitting on their bed, Henry settled next to him, and they were both looking at her in concern because of her behavior.

She shook her head to show Killian that this wasn't the right thing to do. She wasn't going to let her family down. "There is no way I'm backing out now. I'm going. I have no chance, anyway. There will be dozens of girls who have been assistants before there, and I won't ever get chosen, but I have to try. We need a job, and I need to do this. If I don't, I'll never know and will wonder what would have happened for the rest of my life. I've been through worse than going to a castle, really. I'm just worrying for nothing."

Despite her words to comfort her boys, she wasn't feeling reassured at all, quite the opposite, really. Killian knew that, he knew her by heart and he could see that the confidence in the tone of her voice was only a facade. So he got up from the bed, approached her, and gently wrapped his arms around her to hold her against his heart. She sighed at his comforting touch, and completely melted into his embrace, letting him take a bit of her worry away.

A week had passed since they'd learned that Snow White and Prince Charming were going to organize interviews to find a help for their daughter, and everything was happening today. They'd understood that she would go to this interview the moment they'd stepped out of this tavern and got away from the crowd and the noise. And here she was, about to leave for the castle.

They'd discussed a lot about this, knowing it was a big decision to make. They were still wanted for murder in another region, and going to meet a royal couple was bold to say the least. But they hadn't changed their mind once. The chances of their past reaching the Lost Kingdom were very low, especially since they had new identities now, and the royal couple would have no idea of who she was. And they wanted to believe that all of this was a sign. There was a reason why this was happening while they were in need of a job. She needed to go.

They still had decided to take some precautions, so she wouldn't risk getting recognized and thrown in a cell. They had run the plan over and over again for the last seven days, and she knew that she was ready, even if she wasn't comfortable lying.

She wasn't going to mention Killian or Henry during the interview, and she was going to tell the King and the Queen that she was only a poor farm girl, all alone in the world and in search of a better life. She had more chances of getting hired in these conditions, even if she knew she wouldn't get chosen at the end of the day, and she wouldn't get recognized as Emma Swan. The people with whom she'd worked until then on the black market would probably not be at the castle, and nobody would know that she actually had a son and a boyfriend.

She just had to stick with this lie, and she would be okay.

They'd gone to buy a dress in a shop in town for the occasion, and she was wearing this beautiful piece of clothing with the feeling that she was someone else. It was purple, a belt to stress her waistline, and she'd tied her hair up in a long braid, hoping to look a bit more professional that way. She was almost feeling like the princess Henry wanted her to be in these clothes, and she hoped it would give her the assurance she was lacking.

She didn't know how she would manage in such a wealthy environment. Putting the fear of being recognized as a murderer aside, she was afraid that she wouldn't be able to act like these people would expect her to. The simple thought of meeting the royal couple was making her shiver. How was she supposed to act around them? She was an orphan, had lived in the streets, no one had never been there to teach her how to behave in a castle. Hell, she didn't even know how to bow.

She was scared of making a big mistake and blowing her cover. She was afraid of offending them without meaning to. And she was terrified of ruining everything, since this job was their best shot at a real future, someday. Even if she knew she wouldn't get chosen to be the assistant, she still wanted to do the best she could. But she wasn't sure she could do much.

She took a deep breath, and Killian kissed her temple, gently stroking her back. She was already feeling better in his arms, and a new hope was arising in her heart. She would be all right, she had to.

Killian started in a soft voice, his lips brushing against her forehead. "I know you're scared, Swan. But it's going to be all right. Going there won't put you in any danger, I know it. And if they don't see how amazing you are, that's their loss. You can still back out at any moment, all right? If you don't feel comfortable, you're not forced to do anything. Listen to what your heart tells you, it's never failed you before. If you don't want to do this, we'll find something else. I don't want you to do something that makes you unhappy ever again. We'll be all right whether you do this or not."

"I know." She whispered, a small smile appearing on her face at his words.

She snuggled a bit closer to him for a second, as his hand was going up to caress her neck. She was feeling better, thanks to him, and she knew he wouldn't be disappointed if she decided not to do this after all. But she also knew she wouldn't let him and her son down. She had to do this, for them and for herself. She had to prove to herself that she was capable of this.

After a few more seconds, she ended up pulling away from him to look into his gorgeous blue eyes, and she said with a nod to stress her words. "But I have to do this, Killian. I want to."

"In that case, I'm sure that you'll be absolutely perfect." he said, making her smile widen. "And if these people don't see how amazing you are, they're idiots."

He raised an eyebrow, a little smirk appearing on his lips, and she finally chuckled, feeling so relaxed thanks to him. The tension was leaving her muscles, and she shook her head, still smiling, so grateful to have him by her side to get through anything life was throwing their way. He was her rock, and the world couldn't function without him.

Her hands were still resting on his shoulders, and she slowly ran them down his arms, appreciating how his muscles felt under the fabric of his leather coat. She placed herself on her tiptoe to press a quick peck on his lips, feeling butterflies in her stomach at the touch of his mouth against hers. Despite the years, the hardships, everything they'd been through, she was still madly, utterly in love with him. And she knew these feelings would never fade away.

After a few more seconds, she decided that it was time. She couldn't be late to that interview, and she had to go. It would be okay, she knew it. She just had to try, and see what would happen next.

She sighed and said with half a smile. "We should go." Henry got up and Killian kept her hand in his, as they were going up on deck. They'd decided they would accompany her for a while, but leave her to go alone when they would get close to the Lost Kingdom. They didn't want anyone in that city to know that she had a family, or her lie wouldn't work.

She took Henry's hand too and, with her two boys by her side, she started walking to get to her destination. She didn't feel that anxious anymore, but knew this was thanks to Henry and Killian's presence by her side, the way her son was looking at her with a proud smile, the way her boyfriend was slowly drawing circles on the skin of her hand with his thumb. She didn't know how she would feel when she would be left alone, but knew that thinking about them would make her feel better, whatever would happen. They were her everything, and she was doing all of this for them.

Finally, they stopped in the forest, not so far from the fences of the city, but still enough for them to be invisible. Henry wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tight, as she was dropping a kiss to the top of his head. "You're going to be awesome, mom. I know it." She could read in his gaze the hope he had that the couple would recognize her as their daughter, but she ignored it, allowing him to dream just for a little bit longer. When she would get home and tell him that nothing had happened, he would understand that her being the Lost Princess had never been real in the first place.

She turned to Killian after a few seconds, and he pulled her to him then, kissing her lips in a sweet gesture that made her smile. His forehead resting against hers, he said in a whisper. "You're going to blow them all away."

"We'll see about that." She laughed, and he grinned back at her.

"You're not giving yourself enough credits, darling. But whatever happens today, just know that I am proud of you."

It made her smile even more, and she pressed another kiss to his lips then, before completely pulling away, knowing that it was more than time. She fluffed Henry's hair one last time, in this gesture she'd repeated so often since he was a baby, and after one last glance to give herself the courage she needed, she turned her back to them. Feeling their gazes in her back, she started walking on the path under the morning sun, her stomach in knots, but knowing that she had to do this.

She would do anything for them.

* * *

The castle was thirty minutes away from the harbor by foot, and if she'd done most of it with her family by her side, she took her time to join the Lost Kingdom. Killian's words, Henry's trust, and the physical effort managed to calm her down for a bit. She'd always liked walking. Sensing the muscles of her legs working as she was moving forward was relaxing her and making her feel alive. It was like she could go anywhere and do anything. She was strong, Killian was right. She would be okay.

Walking through the forest was making her feel so much better as well. The noise of the wind in the trees and the birds chirping in between the branches were the only sounds disturbing the quiet of the woods, and it was peaceful, comforting. It was giving her the trust she was lacking in herself, and she knew she could overcome anything. She'd been through much worse.

But as she was approaching the fences of the city, as the forest was disappearing in her back and the presence of her son and boyfriend began to feel so much more distant, her anxiety caught up with her. The calm of the woods had left the place to the cries of the merchants working on the market near the gates, and the pounding of the horses' hoofs on the paved floor. In the distance, the castle was standing, huge, majestic, overhanging everything, and Emma's heart was about to explode.

All of the sudden, the noises faded away around her, as if she were under water. Her vision became blurry, and she felt like she couldn't breathe anymore now that she was inside the city. It was alive, so  _real_ , the story of her childhood was coming to life, but that wasn't it. She was feeling like everybody was watching her, knowing that she was lying to everyone around her and pretending to be someone else.

She was feeling ridiculous in her beautiful dress, playing the part of someone she was not. Everyone probably knew that she was an orphan, a thief. A murderer. The people knew her face. They were aware of what she'd done. She was going to get arrested before passing the gates of the castle. The guards were going to take her and throw her in a cell, even sentence her to death, maybe. And she would never see Henry and Killian again.

Why the hell had she decided to come here? This was insane.

It's Killian's voice in her head that made her calm down after a few minutes of pure panic.  _I'm proud of you_ , he'd told her, and she knew that he wasn't wrong. She was just being paranoid. She was going to give him a reason to be proud. More importantly, she was going to give herself a reason to believe that she was a good person. She could do this. She was stronger than these fears she had because of her past.

She was going to give a beautiful life to her little boy, the future that he truly deserved. She was going to prove these idiots that were Eric, Calvin, and everyone who had ever done her wrong that they shouldn't have underestimated her. She doubted herself and she didn't know if she was going to get the job, it was probably impossible, but on that moment she wanted to believe that she could. She wanted to believe that she was going to work with the Queen and earn a lot of money and that, in a few months, her family could go and live their dream life all together.

She'd stopped in the middle of the street, prisoner of her own panic attack. The people were actually looking at her, but it wasn't because they knew who she was. She was pale, breathing heavily, and most of them were wondering if she didn't need help. She noticed that, looked around her, and suddenly straightened. Reassured by her previous thoughts, she chose not to pay attention to the curious glances the people were giving her, and she started to walk again, more determined than ever.

She had to prove to herself that she could do this. She wasn't worthless. She was capable of making a good impression.

Arrived at the bottom of the hilltop on which the castle was standing, she started climbing, finally feeling at peace with herself. She was still anxious, of course, but she also knew that she had to do this. So she let her short breath and her legs burning calm her down, losing herself in the effort to forget about her fears once again.

When she finally reached the gates of the palace, she found them wide open, ready to welcome her. She stopped, staring at the huge gardens and the building standing there, so tall and intimidating her breath got stuck in her throat. Two guards were surrounding the entrance, and she looked at them shyly, wondering if she had to say something. She had no idea of how she had to behave, but they didn't give her the time to do anything.

One of them approached her, and with an almost apologetic gaze, he started to search her, making sure that she wasn't carrying any weapon and wasn't a threat to the royal couple. She stayed completely still, a bit scared that they would recognize her as being Emma Swan, but nothing happened. After a few seconds, the man offered her a smile and nodded, saying :

"You can go. The candidates are already in the common room. The first interview should start in a few minutes. Good luck"

"Thank you." Emma answered with a small smile that didn't reach her eyes. She was too intimidated and didn't know what else to say.

He seemed friendly, but he also had this aura around him. He was obviously someone who was used to giving orders and he wasn't messing around. That was impressive, he looked so confident, so assured, Emma wondered for a second if everyone was that way in the castle. She didn't know how she was going to react when seeing the royal couple, if a guard was making this effect on her, but she forced herself to stop thinking about those things. She had to keep going if she didn't want to look like a complete idiot, standing there motionless.

She had no clue of where the common room was, but she didn't feel like asking. She assumed she would end up finding it by herself, and started walking again to reach the steps leading to the castle, passing through the huge and beautiful gardens. Flowers, trees and fountains were spreading in harmonious pathways, and she took a second to realize how gorgeous all of this was. This palace was really something else, she thought, as she was finally arrived to the steps.

She stopped once again in front of the entrance, wondering if she could go in. A few other guards were surrounding the doors, but they glanced at her without approaching her for another search. They knew why she was there, and one of them even smiled at her, as if to encourage her. She could hear sounds of conversation coming from further into the castle, telling her where the common room probably was, but her legs were refusing to move an inch. Eyes locked with the inside of the palace, she couldn't look away from what was there before her eyes.

She'd never seen such a beautiful place in her entire life.

The hallway was huge and so gorgeous it took her breath away. She was feeling so tiny and yet, she wasn't scared anymore. Her heartbeats had grown slower, and she was comforted by this place. She was feeling good there, for some mysterious reason. She was feeling like she belonged. It was crazy to even think about. Her, the little orphan, the beggar, the thief. She was feeling like she was where she should be while standing in that castle.

She'd probably stayed under the sun for too long.

Stained-glass windows were enlightening the room, giving the surroundings a pretty reddish tint. The floor was paved with large pink tiles, and statuettes and paintings were decorating the place, as if to welcome the guests into this beautiful home. The ceiling was so tall it made her dizzy, and a staircase was leading up to a place she couldn't see from where she was standing. The room was so huge that the Jolly Roger could have stood in it without any issue.

"Impressive, huh?"

Emma turned on her heels, getting out of her thoughts and noticing that one of the guards had approached her. He was smiling, but she immediately saw the differences between him and the other guards she'd met before. He was older, and the armor he was wearing seemed heavier, looking more majestic somehow. Everything about him screamed that he was a chief, and she got stiff, suddenly terrified.

For all she knew, he was aware of who she really was. Maybe that was why he'd approached her in the first place. He didn't seem threatening, but maybe he knew that she was Emma Swan, the fugitive, the murderer. She blinked, almost shaking at the thought that he was going to arrest her, but the smile he offered her then made her calm down all at once.

He was relaxed, friendly. He'd joined her to help her, not to arrest her. He wasn't seeing her as a threat, he just knew why she was there and wanted to tell her where the common room was. She had to stop panicking for nothing, she thought, or she wasn't going to make it in this palace.

She sighed discreetly and smiled back, a bit shyly, to say. "It is. I just have no idea of where the common room is."

"It's at the end of the hallway." He answered kindly. "Right behind the door. Nervous?"

"A bit." She admitted in a whisper, intimidated by how powerful he seemed despite his nice behavior. "I've never been in a castle before."

"The royal couple is absolutely lovely, you'll see. You don't have to be scared. You better get going, though. Punctuality is a true quality in this world."

"You're right. Thank you." She answered with another little smile, finally managing to make her legs move to go join her fate.

"You're welcome. Good luck!" He said back as she was walking away.

She just smiled without answering, still a bit confused by the encounter and wondering how the hell was the royal couple if their employees all seemed so powerful. She tried not to let the despair get to her as she was thinking that she had nothing of this confidence these people had. She pulled herself together in less than a second though. She was only trying, proving to herself that she was good enough to be there. There was no way she would get chosen for the job, and that was okay. Being there was the most important.

After what seemed like an eternity, she finally reached the door that was standing on the other side of the hall. She stopped for a second and took a deep breath, straightening to pretend that she knew what she was doing and wasn't absolutely terrified to be there. Nothing could happen to her, she tried to reassure herself. They didn't know who she was, and she had to convince herself that with all the months that had passed, she was safe. She couldn't keep on living like that, in the fear of getting caught for what she'd done.

She would be okay. The only dangerous thing she was facing right now was making a fool of herself in front of the royal couple. It wasn't pleasant, but it wasn't that bad either. This wouldn't break the fragile balance her family had managed to find in this place.

She couldn't back out, anyway. She'd gone too far and had been through worse. The only thing left to do was to keep on walking.

She opened the door and stepped inside the room.

It was as huge as the hallway, if not more. Built in a circle, it was containing so much furniture, so many sculptures and paintings that she felt completely lost for a second. She didn't even dare to look around her for too long, from fear this place would swallow her whole. Instead, she decided to look at the group of people standing in the middle of the room, the other candidates there for the job. She should as well know who she was up against.

She understood her mistake barely a second later.

Fifty other women, maybe more, were standing there, from different heights, shapes and ages, but she was probably one of the youngest ones. Some of these girls turned when they heard her coming in, and she coughed discreetly, suddenly embarrassed. She immediately realized that these women were all better dressed than she was and, mostly, that they seemed much more confident than her. She had no chance. God, what was she doing there?

She took a deep breath, erasing these thoughts from her mind. She was doing this for herself and for her family. Comparing herself to others would be useless and stupid. She was who she was meant to be, she was a survivor, and if she was ashamed of some things she'd done in the past, she was proud of the person she'd become. So she looked away from these women, but kept her chin up while walking to join them to show them that she wasn't scared, that she was strong and that they shouldn't underestimate her.

She knew at the way they were glancing at her, at the whispers they were exchanging, that some of them were judging her. She chose to ignore them and kept a bit away from the crowd to look at her opponents more easily. A few of them dared to give her a disdainful look that she erased with one raise of her eyebrows, despite her heart pounding so fast in her chest. These women were older, dressed with pretty dresses, some of them were probably rich or had experience in the field of assisting important people, but she chose not to care. She wouldn't give them the right to despise her.

Each and every one of the women that had stared at her looked down when they noticed the look she was giving them back. She almost smiled at that. She was happy to be there, now. She was truly proving to herself that she was more than an orphan, a thief, more than someone who had made mistakes. She was giving her son a reason to be proud.

And then she got interrupted in her thoughts by the gates at the back of the room opening with a big and impressive sound.

Silence fell on the place, every person there turned to look at the door, and she understood that the royal couple was coming in. Her new confidence faded away as her stomach was suddenly in knots. She wished Henry and Killian could have been there, so she would have been able to hold their hands and give herself some courage. Instead, she grabbed the ring Killian had given her so long ago, and tugged at it with a little sigh.

She needed a few seconds to actually see the King and the Queen because of the crowd that was standing in front of her. Not a sound was audible in the room, everyone was shivering with the certitude that they were in the presence of two legends. Emma discreetly put herself on her tiptoe to see better, trying to discover what she was going to face in this interview. She had to know. She wanted to. Something was attracting her to these two figures walking to face the crowd, and she wanted to see them.

She was finally able to as they'd stopped in front of the group of women there, standing straight and proud. Her eyes first met the King, Prince Charming as they called him, and she felt so small next to the aura of natural power he was releasing. Clear hair, blue eyes, and despite the warm smile, she guessed that he could be more than fierce if someone attacked those he loved.

The legend said he'd gotten hurt just before the Dark Curse, and he had still placed his daughter in the magical wardrobe while being on the verge of dying. A good father, a good man. His hand was interlaced with the Queen's, and he turned to her to share a glance filled with so much softness Emma's heart fluttered.

When her eyes fell on Snow White, she felt a huge and unexpected calm filling her entire being. She was smiling at the crowd, all gentle and kind, all warm and reassuring. Emma knew what she was capable of, she'd heard about how good of a warrior she was, how fierce of a fighter she could be, but she was so soothing she let go of a little sigh, almost smiling at this woman she didn't know.

She had long black hair, falling in her back in gentle waves. She was pale and was small and thin, all delicate and soft. Her eyes were the same color Emma's were, but she didn't find it strange. She just kept on looking at her, realizing that she didn't seem any older than she was, but was looking so much wiser.

Maybe these twenty-eight years spent stuck in time had somehow had an effect on them, after all.

All of the sudden, the crowd moved in unison and broke Emma out of her almost trance. The couple was standing there for a few seconds now, and every person in the room was now bowing to welcome them properly. For an instant of panic, Emma didn't know what to do at all, and only decided to imitate them a second later.

She had no idea of what she was doing, though. She looked up to take the position the girl in front of her had, but still wasn't sure if she was doing it right. Head down, knees bent, gracefully lifting the bottom of the dress. They all looked so elegant and confident, Emma felt herself blush a little bit. She was feeling ridiculous, and thanked the odds for choosing to put herself in the back of the room.

Luckily, the ordeal was over quickly. With a welcoming smile, the Queen gestured for the group of people to stand back up. The way she was grinning at the crowd comforted Emma once again, now that she was back on her two feet, and she felt even better when Snow White started to talk. She had a soft voice, so soothing and calm, the voice a mother would use to talk to a child.

Emma didn't have a lot of experience on that matter, but the way she would talk to Henry was coming on its own, out of instinct. And it was also the way Judy had talked to her during her childhood. The only mother she'd ever known. The only one during her first few years that had ever made her feel safe, loved, and not completely worthless.

Maybe that was why the Queen was soothing her so much. Despite their physical differences, she reminded her of Judy. And that felt so, so good.

"Welcome to all of you." The Queen started then, still smiling. "And thank you for coming here today. We can't even begin to tell you how happy we are to have you here in this castle. We will start by telling you how the interviews will take place, and then we can begin."

"You just need to know that we want what's best for our daughter." The King added, his eyes shinning in a way that made Emma's heart tighten. "We want her to feel at home when she'll get here. We just want her to be happy. She's probably spent way too much time alone already. We want her to be surrounded by good and trustworthy people."

It made Emma smile slightly. This couple was crazy about their daughter, while they didn't even know who she was. She could see how much they loved her at the way they were holding onto each other's hand, and at the way the Queen's eyes had filled with tears at her husband's words. It was so obvious she would have wanted to see her baby grow up more than anything, and it made her heart ache. She didn't know these people, but she knew they deserved to be happy.

If she was still alive, the Lost Princess was lucky, Emma thought. She had a family who adored her, she was loved, wanted. She hoped from the bottom of her heart that she was out there somewhere and that the couple wasn't wrong by thinking that they would find her eventually. And she suddenly felt so connected to her. Emma and this girl had lived the exact same thing, after all. The princess had been left alone too. And if she'd probably found an adoptive family, they were sharing the same past, the same wounds. She just hoped that if she really was there, she would find her family soon.

She wanted to be as optimistic as Henry was, but she knew that it was probably impossible for this little girl to still be alive today. A baby who had been left alone so soon had so little chance of surviving. Maybe she'd died the day of the Dark Curse, and the couple would never find the daughter they were seeking. She hoped that she was wrong, she really did. These people deserved to find their little girl. This family needed to be reunited. They needed to find their happy ending.

The Queen started to talk again, getting her out of her thoughts yet another time. "The organization is simple. You will introduce yourself to these men right there." She gestured and smiled to two young men who were standing a bit back, a quill in one hand and a parchment in the other. "They'll take your names, and we'll call you in the same order you've introduced yourself to them. We'll take each one of you alone for a few minutes to talk a little bit. For the others, you'll be waiting for your turn in a special room, you'll have drinks and snacks available there. I really hope that every one of you will enjoy the interview. We're really excited to meet you all. Thank you again for coming here today, it really means a lot to us. And good luck to all of you."

She gestured for the crowd to move to the young men standing behind her, but Emma was too busy still staring at her to realize that fully. It's only when the group of people moved in unison that she understood what was going on, and she got confused about what to do for a second. She only imitated the other candidates an instant later, and found herself at the very end of the queue with the fifty other girls in front of her.

She sighed and closed her eyes in despair. She didn't have a lot of luck apparently, because it meant that she was going to be the last one to get to the interview. That wasn't a very good position to be chosen as the new assistant, but she ended up shrugging, deciding not to care about these details. She had zero chance of being picked as the help, anyway. Putting too much hope in this interview was only going to hurt her. She was doing this to prove that she could, and she was just going to see what would happen without asking herself too many questions.

With a bit of luck, the meeting would go well and she would actually have a nice time talking with this couple. And in the worst case scenario, this would still allow Henry to dream a little bit, and she would be able to tell him everything about her encounter with the King and the Queen.

She didn't know what it was at first, but a strange sensation suddenly made her turn her head to the middle of the room, as the queue was slowly moving forward. She was feeling watched, and if it wasn't threatening, she still wanted to know what the hell was going on. She hadn't expected to find what her eyes met, though, and her heart skipped a beat when she saw the Queen staring back at her.

Surprised, she held her gaze for a few seconds, without wondering if it was rude to do so. She just felt attracted to her, somehow. She had such beautiful, gentle eyes. The same green color hers were, but the warmth she was reading in her pupils was distinguishing them. She'd grown more gentle with Henry's birth, then with Killian's presence by her side, understanding that she didn't need to be harsh to protect herself from the world. But she still had that spark in the back of her gaze, sometimes, when she would catch her image in the mirror. That spark she had since she was a little girl. The cold light of someone who had thought one day that she was unloved and unlovable.

The glance they shared lasted for another few seconds, and Emma suddenly found herself blushing when she realized what she was doing. The Queen's lips moved to form a small smile that made her eyes shine, and as Emma broke the contact, she still saw the nostalgia etched in her features. She didn't need long to understand why.

She had more or less the same age her daughter should have been, and this was probably the reason why she was looking at her that way. She was seeing in her all the missed moments with her little girl, all the firsts, all the laughter. Her heart ached, and she tried to smile slightly to reassure her. The Queen was still looking at her, and Emma finally turned and looked back at the brunette standing before her in the queue, focusing on her short hair and small figure to pull herself together and forget about this strange moment with the Queen of the Lost Kingdom.

She only looked back up when it was time to give her name to the young man in front of her. She'd been lost in her thoughts and hadn't noticed all the girls disappearing into the waiting room. She could hear the sounds of excited voices coming from it, and she wondered what kind of agitation was awaiting for her back there. She didn't really want to interact with these people that had seemed to judge her, and knew she was in for some long hours of boredom before she could get to the interview.

"Leia Stark." She said to the man, who carefully wrote the name down on his parchment. She liked how this name sounded, now that she'd got used to it. It meant the beginning of a new life for her and her family. The young man gave her an encouraging smile, looking almost sorry for her that she was the last one to go, and she finally entered the other room to go wait for her turn.

The interviews had already begun, for what she understood. Some of the girls were talking around glasses of water or pieces of cake, not looking intimidated at all by the fact that they were in a castle. Emma didn't pay attention to them and looked at the food laying on a huge table there, as if having so much supplies in one place was the most natural thing in the world.

It reminded her of how she had once looked at the pastries in the bakers' windows with the hope that she could get to them, with the strong desire to feel the sugar on her tongue and relieve her stomach yelling for food. She realized how big it was, to be in the presence of all of this given where she was coming from.

She still decided not to take anything. This amount of food seemed almost obscene for her, who'd fought to survive for her entire life. And despite her desire to take this interview lightly, her stomach was in knots, and she would have been unable to eat anything. So she wandered for a while, searching for a place to sit, and ended up discovering an empty wooden chair in a corner of the room. She settled on it, cursing herself for not taking a book with her to help pass the time, and she folded her arms, just waiting for what was coming next.

The seconds, the minutes, the hours elapsed slowly, almost stretching until it was impossible to see the end of it. The other women were disappearing one by one, called by a beautiful woman with a long dress who was probably the Queen's assistant, and they weren't coming back after the interview, surely going back home. Emma thought about Killian and Henry on the ship, hoping that they weren't worried because of her long absence. She hadn't expected all of this to be this long, but the King and Queen apparently liked to take their time questioning the girls, and she just wished she would have reacted sooner and not let herself get last on that damn list.

Out of boredom, she started noticing the little details in the room. She looked at the tapestries on the walls and at how tall the ceiling was, she stared at the paintings and sculptures, but she ended up also watching the girls that were surrounding her. Thinking about their clothes and the way they were standing, assured like the world was there to serve them, she started creating them a life to busy herself a bit.

This tall redhead was dreaming about luxury and riches. This older woman was experienced, but the child she was taking care of until then had grown up and didn't need her anymore. That thirty-something brunette was coming from afar for this job, trying to find gold to feed her younger siblings while her parents were too old to work on the fields. She smiled at this stories she was telling herself and thought that maybe Henry did take after her for his imagination after all, if she was able to create all those things in her mind.

She definitely had the time to notice that some girls were staying for a long time, while some of them were in the room for barely a minute before the Queen's assistant came back to ask for another candidate. Her limbs were starting to ache as she was staying in the same position for so long, and it's as she was yawning behind her palm that a voice by her side made her startle a little.

"It's long, huh?"

She turned to notice that a young woman with short brown hair and dark eyes had come to sit beside her on a chair. She seemed barely older than Emma was, and was looking at her with a somewhat shy smile. At her hairdo and the dress she was wearing, Emma recognized the girl who had stood before her in the queue, and she grinned back, noticing that she was looking embarrassed to be there too and seemed genuinely kind.

All of this also gave her the opportunity to see that it was just the two of them left in the room anymore. She couldn't believe that she hadn't noticed the other women had disappeared sooner, and she straightened on her chair, realizing it was going to be her turn soon. She'd waited for that moment for hours, and still, her heart started to pound faster in her chest.

"It is." She answered to the woman with a little chuckle, happy to be talking to someone after hours of pure boredom.

"Maybe we should have thrown ourselves in the queue like the others did." She sighed, running her hand down the fabric of her white dress. "I feel like waiting is even worse than going directly."

"It'll be over soon." Emma comforted her. "And you'll do great, I'm sure of it. I'm Leia, by the way. Leia Stark."

"Nice to meet you!" She said with a big smile.

She was about to add something, probably her name, but she got stiff when she heard the steps of the assistant approaching them again. Emma saw her taking a deep breath, as if to calm herself down. She was about to offer her some reassuring words because she seemed truly terrified, but the voice of the woman she'd seen so many times since the beginning of the afternoon rang in the room.

"Chiara Hudson?"

"That's me!" She answered, getting up, almost breathless.

"Good luck!." Emma told her with a smile as she was standing there, as if hesitating to walk forward.

Chiara grinned back "Thank you! Good luck to you too!"

And Emma found herself alone in the huge room, looking even bigger now that it was empty. It had been so noisy, so crowded for the last few hours, she was suddenly scared to be all alone with her thoughts in this unknown place. She was filled with the sudden and brief desire to run away and never look back, but she quickly shook her head, outraged by her own feelings.

She hadn't waited for over four hours to back out now. She was about to get to this damn interview, and she would be okay. Her family needed her. She wasn't going to get the job, she knew it, but they really needed this money, so it was worth a try. It couldn't be that awful, anyway. The couple seemed lovely. Everything was going to be all right.

Chiara seemed to stay for a very long time in that room with the couple, she realized. The minutes passed and, trying to think about something else than this interview that was stressing her so much, she suddenly hoped that, since she wasn't going to get chosen for this job anyway, she wanted Chiara to be the princess' assistant. She had talked with her for less than a minute, but she had immediately liked her. She wasn't like the other girls, arrogant, judgmental. She had seemed soft, kind, human. If the princess was alive, such a warm presence in her life could only do her good.

Emma suddenly noticed how dry her throat felt. She got up to approach the table where insane amounts of food had laid earlier, now almost empty, to pour herself a glass of water, but she got stiff when she heard the so expected and yet feared steps ringing on the floor of the empty common room.

Her legs felt unable to support her weight, and she let go of a shaky breath, trying to pull herself together. She had to look at least a bit confident to introduce herself to the King and Queen, she didn't have a choice. She would feel better when it would all be over, anyway. She had to do this, she wouldn't forgive herself if she didn't at least give it a try. And maybe they were as kind as the people said they were and she was actually going to feel comfortable there. It was unlikely, but imagining this was a good cure and she wasn't going to deprive herself of that.

She nervously ran her hands down her dress, and made sure that her braid was still okay. Then she straightened, determined not to show how scared she actually was. She was standing there and looking straight ahead when the assistant came back at the door, and she said with a welcoming smile.

"Leia Stark, I assume?"

"There's not much people left." Emma answered with a smile. For a second, she wondered if she'd been rude, but the woman laughed and gestured for her to come.

Emma walked to her, and the assistant led her to the common room, crossed it and walked through one of the doors Emma hadn't seen yet, before getting into a long and narrow room at the end of which was standing a staircase. Emma wasn't sure if she should have been talking, and chose silence over babbling, still uncertain of how she should behave in this strange context. Luckily, the woman didn't give her the time to ask herself more questions, and she started in a kind tone :

"It isn't easy to be the last one here, huh?"

"It isn't. Waiting just brings all the fears back to life, I guess." She answered with a little wince.

The assistant was beautiful, she noticed now that she was standing closer to her. She was tall, thin, with a beautiful set of brown eyes, highlighted by her short, curly hair. She had to be about ten years older than Emma was and, hearing her answer, she placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Emma had never liked to be touched by people she didn't know but, this time, it didn't bother her at all. She could easily see why Snow White had chosen this woman as an assistant. She seemed as lovely as the couple was, and she was truly happy to make an ally in this intimidating place.

"Oh, I bet it does. Don't worry, though, really. It's not because you're the last one that the King and the Queen won't listen to you. They're ecstatic to be here today. I'm Snow's assistant for years before the Curse, I've seen her pregnant, and I know she would do anything for her daughter. They both love her beyond words. Something tells me that they're going to like you." She added with a wink.

They'd left the narrow room, had walked up the stairs, and were now in a hallway ending with a door, as Emma guessed that the couple was standing behind it. Her heart started to pound even faster in her chest. "I'm really not that interesting." She answered with a little chuckle.

"Don't underestimate yourself." The assistant answered, reminding Emma of what Killian would always tell her, and it made her smile slightly.

They stopped in front of the door, seeming so big in front of her there. She couldn't believe that behind this was standing the royal couple, and that her, the little orphan, was going to actually talk to them. "Okay, we're here." The woman added warmly. "Good luck. I really hope it'll go great for you, Leia."

"Thank you..." Emma said, before stopping when she realized she didn't even know the assistant's name.

"Kate." She introduced herself with a grin.

"Thank you, Kate." She repeated. "Your support means a lot."

Emma saw her smile as she turned to walk away, and she placed her hand on the silver handle of the door. The conversation she just had with Kate had relaxed her somehow, but her heart was still beating insanely fast from fear that she would end up doing something wrong.

She hesitated for a second, then decided that she needed to enter sooner than later. She'd waited for too long already, and if she was afraid, she was also curious to know how this interview was going to go. She'd understood now that no one knew who she really was, or she would have gotten arrested already. She had nothing to worry about, she thought then, before making sure that her dress and hair were okay one last time and finally pushing the door.

She took the time to carefully close it behind her back before turning to look at the royal couple. She took in the atmosphere of the room at the same time, realizing it didn't feel thick, but welcoming and warm. When she finally looked at them, she saw the King and the Queen casually sitting in the middle of the room on two tall chairs. They were discussing about something, and even though she didn't know them, she could guess the bound they were sharing, stronger than anything, unbreakable. Just like the bound she was sharing with Killian.

They both got quiet when they realized that she was there. She stayed still beside the door, not sure if she had to walk forward on her own or wait for a permission, uncertain of how she was supposed to talk to them in order not to be impolite. She felt a shiver running up her spine, but the smile the Queen offered her calmed her down once again. With warmth in her voice, she said : "Leia, right? Come on in, we don't bite."

She obeyed, her steps uncertain and her hands a bit shaky as her heart was still pounding so hard she thought it could be heard into the entire room. She forced herself to stay focused on the Queen's smile and gentle gaze to give herself some courage. She didn't know why this woman was making her feel so safe while she had been mistrustful most of her life, but she was welcoming this feeling without questioning it too much.

When she arrived next to the couple, her mind started to run insanely fast as she was realizing that she probably had to bow in front of them. So she leaned quickly, imitating the pose she'd seen the other women take earlier, hoping she wasn't being too ridiculous. She felt her cheeks reddening and the Queen giggled, but there was no trace of mockery in her tone. It made her blink in surprise as Snow White was saying :

"No need for these formalities here, Leia. Please, take a seat."

She obeyed, still not saying anything from fear her voice would come out all shaky and broken. She sat down straight on her chair, hoping she wasn't making a fool of herself there. The King looked at her with shinning eyes, and if it wasn't mean, the laughter in his gaze was real. He looked almost childlike as he was saying with a smile :

"You're not used to bowing, are you?"

"Charming!" the Queen said, nudging his shoulder, and the gesture reminded Emma so much of her and Killian it finally made her smile. "Don't listen to him, Leia. You were perfect."

"You are right when you say that I'm not used to this." She admitted then, in an almost timid voice.

It made them grin and they shared a glance, their hands interlaced and placed on the Queen's knee in a tender gesture. Their love was so real it was crackling in the air around them, and it made her think about Killian but also about Henry. About the love the three of them were sharing, stronger than anything. Thinking about the two most important people of her life relaxed her a bit, and she sat down more comfortably in her chair, trying not to look too anxious about all of this.

The King started again after a second of silence, getting his serious look back to really begin the interview. "All right then, Leia. Your name is Stark, is that right? And how old are you?" He added when she'd nodded.

"I'm twenty-eight."

A shadow crossed their features and Emma's heart tightened. She bit her bottom lip, worried about the fact she'd hurt them by reminding them of the daughter they'd lost. But their smiles were gone for barely a second before coming back, as if they were comforted by the fact they were choosing an assistant for their girl. It was probably making them feel so much closer to her.

The couple nodded, and Snow White said. "If it's okay with you, we'd like to ask you a few questions, Leia. We want to know more about you. Where do you live? What were you doing before trying for this job?"

Emma took a discreet and quick breath, trying to clear her mind up for what was coming. She'd talked for hours about this lie with Killian, to make sure that their story was perfect and that no one could guess that she wasn't telling them the truth. They'd invented a past to Leia Stark, and she knew this story by heart. She just had to remember she couldn't mention Killian or Henry, but the rest of it was almost the truth. They hadn't wanted for her to lie more than necessary, and this story was more of a half-truth than a real lie.

"I'm an orphan." She started, and she immediately saw the Queen frowning at these words. "I was born far away from here. My parents died when I was a baby. I was adopted by a couple and I spent all my childhood with them. When I became old enough to work, I was hired in a tavern. I worked there for a while, but my parents died of sickness. So I decided to move out of my region to start anew, and I arrived here. I work in a farm not so far from here. I'm doing small jobs there, and the farmers allow me to sleep and eat for free. But I'm looking for something that will really allow me to live."

Emma stopped there, surprised to notice that her voice hadn't broken, and that she'd seemed completely assured of what she was saying. For an insane second, she got scared that they knew she wasn't telling them the truth, and that they were going to call the guards and throw her in a cell. But the Queen offered her a worried glance, as if she'd been actually touched by this entire story.

"You've lost a lot of people in your life, haven't you?"

"I have." She answered without lying, because that part was definitely true. "I just hope things are going to get better from now on."

"We hope so for you, too." The King said so genuinely Emma sighed in surprise. "Tell us, Leia." He added after a second of silence. "What are your motivations for working here?"

"Well, I've always liked to help people." She said, repeating those words she'd said so many times for the last few days, as she was rehearsing what to say in this situation. "I'm an orphan, so being in this castle already is a dream coming true for me, you know? I'm used to hard work and I'm not easily tired. I'm ready to listen, advice and help as much as I possibly can. And then..." She added, deciding to improvise, because she somehow knew it was the right thing to say on that moment. "The Princess and I have both been deprived of our parents, and we're the same age. I'm sure we could understand each other."

The silence fell on the room. Emma looked at the couple sharing a glance and wondered for a bit if she'd been right to say those things. The Queen left her husband's eyes to tilt her head on its side, and she stared at her, as if trying to read into her soul. She felt so guilty for a second to have lied about almost everything to these people, but she also knew that she hadn't had a choice and that all of this was worth a try.

In Snow White's eyes, Emma read a true affection that surprised her. She didn't know her and yet, she was looking at her with so much softness her heart swelled in her chest. She held her gaze, not really knowing what she had to do, but the Queen started to move again. She smiled at her, kindly, and stated. "I'm sure that you could, indeed."

She nodded then, as if it was concluding something, and got up from her chair. In a second, Emma was standing up as well, knowing that imitating the couple was probably the best thing to do right now. She had to admit the interview had surprised her, though. She hadn't expected to live these moments by coming there. She'd thought this couple would be so intimidating, and they were in some way, but they were just mostly humans.

She didn't know much about their story other than the legends that were being told about them, and yet she could guess all the hardships they'd had to face together, hand in hand, building their relationship on trust and love. They'd fought to get where they were, and they would fight until they had their daughter back beside them. The Queen approached her as she was standing there, and she said with another smile :

"All right, Leia. I'm going to tell you what I've told to every other candidate. We'll take our decision for tomorrow, we want to discuss a bit about the people we've met today, but we've asked those who had a chance to have the job to come back tomorrow morning. See, we work with our instincts. We actually know who's going to come back as soon as they step into this room. I'm very happy to tell you that you've passed this first test easily, and we would love for you to come back to know the final results of this interview."

Emma found herself speechless at these words. She couldn't believe that they'd actually liked her and wanted to see her again. When she'd walked into the room, she had been convinced the interview wouldn't last for more than a minute, and now they were asking her to come back. What she'd said had actually pleased them, and she didn't know what to answer, because she'd never imagined that could happen.

"Thank you." She whispered then, because she didn't know what else to say.

"No need to thank us." The King answered with a smile at her words. "We're very happy to have you here. Come on, we'll walk you back to the gates. It's the least we could do after making you wait for so long."

She was too surprised to protest. She didn't know anything about the customs in such a wealthy environment, but she was pretty sure walking a stranger back to the door was pretty unusual. Once again, they weren't like your typical royal couple. They were so  _real_. And it had actually touched her soul to talk to them. She'd found them so honest and she was feeling horrible about lying to them, but she chose to forget about these thoughts to think about something more joyful.

She was feeling something resembling a bound between the three of them, even if she couldn't really say why. It was like they knew each others for a very long time. She wanted to trust them, and god knows she didn't trust easily because of her past. And she could see something shine in the depth of their eyes, something true when they were looking at her even though they didn't even know who she really was.

A shiver ran up her spine, but it wasn't an unpleasant one. She was feeling like she was living in a dream. It was weird, to feel so close to these people that shared nothing with her. Once again, when the Queen gestured for her to follow her, and offered one of her famous smile, Emma felt so calm it made her sigh slightly. She obeyed without a question, feeling light and happy about this day that had definitely turned out to be much better than she'd expected.

"Have you eaten?" The King asked as they were walking through the rooms she'd already seen with Kate, what made Emma blink in surprise, because this was an odd question coming from him.

"Hum… no." She admitted with a shy smile, and she noticed the scandalized gaze the Queen was throwing her way.

"What do you mean? That's not good! Charming, there's probably lots of leftovers on the table in the waiting room. Go ask the cooks to pack something, Leia should have it."

Emma's eyes opened wide at that, as she was feeling completely confused for a second. Had she heard correctly? If she was sure of one thing, it was that this wasn't a common thing to do. Why would they offer this to her and not to one of the other girls? She understood after another instant, and relaxed a little bit. They probably wanted to make up for the long wait, and she was surely reminding them of the daughter they'd lost. They wanted to give her a little something to feel close to their long lost baby girl and tell her that they were coming.

"I can't accept this." She shook her head anyway, because it was way too much, as the King was walking away to go to the waiting room.

"Of course you can." Snow White argued gently, placing a hand on her back to encourage her to keep on walking. "No one is going to eat it here, anyway. I'm sure it'll be useful to you, one way or another."

Emma hated pity. That was a feeling she'd developed in the streets, she hated the light in the people's eyes when they would give her money. They had always looked at her like the simple fact of thinking about what she was was disturbing them. But this gift, it didn't feel like pity. It felt like actual kindness, and she was so surprised she didn't know what to say at all.

So instead, she smiled. Because she knew these snacks would surely please Henry, and she would have done anything for her little boy. The Queen continued to talk joyfully as they were walking, then waiting for the King near the gates. Emma guessed that she liked small talks and loved to learn more about people, and she answered her questions gladly while still being careful not to spill one of her secrets.

The Queen asked her if she liked this new region, for how long she'd been there, and she luckily didn't need to lie about that. She answered that this place was a new start for her, and that she was truly happy to be there. Hiding the truth to this woman who was so kind to her was breaking her heart, and she was relieved to be able to tell her about her true feelings, without having to lie no more.

After a few minutes, the King came back with a basket in his hand, and he handed it to her with a big smile. She thanked him without looking inside it from fear she would seem rude, but she smiled at the thought of all the pastries in there, the image of her son smiling in her mind making her so happy. The couple waved at her as she was walking through the doors, and she turned on her heels to walk down the stairs, her heart still pounding in her chest at this very strange meeting.

The way she was feeling attracted to these people like she'd known them for years and how kind they'd been to her was definitely odd. Odd, but nice.

Once she was out of the gardens of the palace, Emma fastened her pace a little bit. She was more than impatient to tell everything that had happened to her family.

* * *

Emma hurried to go back to the Jolly Roger. The night had started to fall, and despite the spring that was more than well settled and the days that were pleasantly warm, the nights were still quite cold. Shivering, she cursed herself for not thinking about taking a cloak with her. Her head was aching a little bit, as the exhaustion of nights spent without sleep because of her nervousness and the long wait she'd had to endure were catching up with her. Yet, she couldn't really pay attention to any of this discomfort. She was way too happy for that.

The meeting she'd had with the royal couple was confusing and intriguing her beyond words. And she really, really wanted to go join Killian and Henry, hug her boys tight and never let them go. She wanted to tell them everything about her encounter with the King and the Queen, so her little boy could dream about it at night, seeing her as the Princess he wanted her to be for once.

And she wanted to talk with Killian about this surprising spark she'd read in the Queen's eyes. The way she'd looked at her, as if they were old friends. She just hoped that they weren't too worried about her, since she'd spent much longer than expected in the castle. She wanted to spend the night in Killian's strong arms, and wake up rested and even happier the next day. Her family's presence always had this effect on her, after all.

The basket full of food was bouncing against her hip, reminding her of these moments during her interview and how strangely safe and happy she'd felt.

She'd actually expected to be judged by the royal couple because of her past, because if parts of the story she'd told them had been a lie, pieces of her life had made their way to this tale. She'd heard about how lovely the couple was, but she was so used to rich people despising her she'd thought they would be so different than the way they actually were. They'd been so nice. Friendly. Definitely very good people.

Maybe they behaved that way with everyone they met, but she'd still felt special. Like a member of their family they'd tried to make happy. These looks they'd given her were still huge questions in her mind, and she really wondered if they'd done that with everyone, or if she was the only one who'd had the right to this treatment. She liked to believe that they had liked her, that they'd been especially nice with her. That she'd touched them, even if she wasn't chosen for the job, that she'd left a little part of her in their hearts.

The more astonishing about all of this was probably this trust that she'd felt for them. Her, the little girl who'd always had troubles trusting anyone.

She tried not to ask herself too many questions, though. She would know soon enough who had been chosen for the job, and already knew for a fact that it wasn't her. She didn't want to give herself false hopes and be disappointed at the end of the day. She was already more than happy that they'd asked her to come back to the castle. She'd passed that test, and she was so, so glad about it.

She really wanted to come back to her family now, despite these good moments lived with the royal couple. She was dreaming about Henry and Killian's famous hugs, and she fastened her steps a little bit more to be able to get to the ship faster. She just couldn't wait to hug her two boys.

The sky had grown even darker when she finally reached the harbor. The Jolly Roger was there, as always, representing home and their family life. Despite the darkness, she could see Killian's figure leaning against the handrail and looking in her direction and she smiled at that. He was waiting for her, and she waved at him to show that she was there, guessing the smile that had appeared on his face. This gorgeous smile that had the power of making her melt and would make this desire grow in her lower stomach.

She almost ran to cross the last few feet that were keeping them apart.

She was barely stepping on deck that he was already by her side. The basket stuck in the crook of her elbow to have both her hands free, she threw herself into his arms, almost making him lose his balance with the impact. It made him chuckle as he was embracing her completely, placing his chin on the top of her head and stroking her back in a soothing gesture.

She let go of a sigh of pure happiness when she felt herself relax against him. His familiar touch and smell were invading her entirely, and she let herself melt in his embrace, so happy to be back in his arms. Back where she really belonged.

They stayed like this for a while without saying a thing, under the dark sky shining with dozens of stars. He'd taught her how to recognize some of them, and they would sometimes lie down on deck and he would tell her that she was the most beautiful star he'd ever had the pleasure of seeing. This memory made her smile, and he ended up talking without letting go of her a bit, his face buried in her hair to breathe her in.

"You okay?"

"Yeah." She whispered, pulling just a little bit away to be able to look at him. The moonlight was enlightening his face, stressing his jaw, and his eyes seemed so clear in the darkness surrounding them. "I've brought food." She added after a second, lost in his gaze and the love she was reading in it.

"Where did you get that?" he asked, looking at the basket she was holding with a questioning expression. He probably noticed the fact that this basket seemed oddly luxurious, and added. "You didn't get this from the castle, did you?"

"I'll tell you everything later." She promised with a grin, wanting to make sure that her son was all right first. "Where is Henry?"

"He's reading in his room." He said without insisting, knowing that she would tell him everything sooner or later, both his arms still wrapped around her. "It's getting late and he's tired. I was starting to get worried."

"I know." She said with an apologetic smile. "It took longer than expected."

"I was beginning to wonder if someone hadn't found you so gorgeous at the castle that they didn't want to let you go."

It made her roll her eyes, but she was unable to hide the smile on her face. "You're an idiot, Jones."

"An idiot that you love anyway." He added, raising his eyebrows and making her chuckle.

"An idiot that I love very much, indeed." She stated, looking up at him.

The smile he offered her then was worth every word in the world. He leaned, his eyes shinning with the pure adoration he had for her, and pressed his lips against hers. The kiss was long, passionate, her mouth opening all naturally to let his tongue enter. She grabbed the back of his coat for balance as he was kissing her senseless on the spot, and she couldn't tell if it lasted for seconds, minutes or hours anymore. It was just the two of them in the world, and she'd lost every sense of time or space. She was just feeling him, everywhere, his smell, his touch, his skin, and on that moment, it was all that mattered.

They parted after a while to relieve their lungs that were screaming for oxygen, and knowing that if they didn't stop now, this would lead to other pretty enjoyable activities that were planned for later. He pressed his forehead against hers, as if to get one last taste of her before having to pull away completely. They were panting in unison, their hearts beating at the same rhythm, and she felt so complete she couldn't help but smile.

"Let's go find Henry." He finally offered against her lips after a minute of silence. "You'll be able to tell us everything."

"All right." She answered, still grinning.

She moved one last time to press a little peck on his kiss-swollen lips, and he held her close for a second before letting her pull away. She immediately took his hand to interlace their fingers as she was still looking at him, finding him so gorgeous under the moonlight her heart skipped a beat.

They walked to their son's room and he swung their arms back and forth between them, like a teenager would have done. Emma bit her lips, trying to get one last taste of him and her mouth still vibrating with the strength of their kiss. She loved him, so much, beyond words and beyond everything, and her heart felt fit to burst on that moment, as they were moving in a comfortable silence.

Henry was laying on his bed, reading a book and the light of several candles placed all around him enlightening the room. He heard them coming in right away, and a huge smile spread on his lips when he saw the both of them, his eyes shinning with pure happiness. He jumped on his feet to go join them, and wrapped his arms around his mom for a hug. She embraced him back completely, not managing to erase the smile on her face. She was so happy with them, she couldn't even express it.

"We missed you, mom!" He said, pulling a little bit away to look at her in the eyes, while she was still holding him close.

"I missed you too, kid. And I have something for you." She said mysteriously, chuckling at the way his eyes enlightened at the news. She handed him the basket she was holding, and added as he was gasping in excitement, realizing what was inside. "If you look right, there must be cake somewhere in there."

"Awesome!" He said, getting a piece of chocolate cake out of the basket, carefully wrapped so it wouldn't get crushed during the journey home. "Where did you find this?"

"Gift from the Queen" She said, and Henry blinked in surprise.

"You're kidding, right?"

"I'll tell you everything." She laughed at his reaction.

"We should as well share the cake, then." Henry offered, sitting down on the bed and getting the pieces of cake out to give them to his parents.

It made Emma smile widely, and they all settled on the little bed, all so close their shoulders could touch as they were leaning against the wall. They unwrapped their cake and started eating, as Emma was waiting to have taken a few bites before beginning to talk. They had money now, despite not having jobs at the moment, but in order to save as much gold as possible, it was unusual for them to buy that kind of food. It had been a long time since she'd eaten such a sweet thing, and she closed her eyes in pleasure when she felt the melted chocolate on her tongue.

The little girl in her smiled, the same little girl who had desired these things so much such a long time ago. Now she had those things, but more importantly, she'd found a family. Things were going pretty well given where she was coming from. She was a survivor, and she was proud of this.

Killian must have guessed her thoughts, because he wrapped his arm around her waist to hold her close. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he pressed a kiss to her temple as she was smiling at the sweet gesture. She was worried about money, about her interview, about their future. But on that moment, close to the two people she loved the most, eating this cake, she thought that life was definitely pretty good.

"So?" Henry finally started to talk. "Gift from the Queen, huh? Will you tell us?"

"Let's say the interview was… interesting." She admitted with a little chuckle, feeling Killian's impatience to know more and laughing at the way Henry's eyes were shining with curiosity.

Seeing that they were both eager to know, she started telling the tale of her meeting with the royal couple. The long wait, the odd glance she'd shared with the Queen in the common room, Kate and Chiara and how lovely they'd been, and this strange light she'd read in the King and Queen's eyes as they were talking to her

"I think I remind them of their daughter, since we're the same age." She said, trying to ignore the triumphant gaze Henry was offering her. For him, they'd been that nice because she was the Lost Princess, but she knew it wasn't the case. They'd just liked her because she was a little bit like their daughter. "They've asked me to come back tomorrow." She added then. "Only a few of the girls will be there. I've passed the first test, and I'll know tomorrow who will be chosen for the job."

"Mom, that's great!" Henry cried out. "Can you imagine, you're maybe going to work at the castle! They loved you!"

"I'm so proud of you, Swan." Killian added in a low voice, dropping a kiss to the top of her head. "Gods, I knew you could do it. You're amazing."

"Calm down, you two." She chuckled, not wanting them to be disappointed. They'd just liked her, but there was no way she would be chosen as the assistant. "You're putting the cart before the horse, here. I've just passed one test. It doesn't mean anything."

"Well, even if you don't get chosen, I'm glad." Killian said, pulling her even closer to bury his face in her hair. "I'm glad that they saw the wonderful woman you are. You really can do anything, Swan. You're brilliant. And I love you."

It made her smile, and he wrapped her a little bit tighter in his embrace, as she was gesturing for Henry to come join them. For a while, they just stayed there, hugging each other, and she swore all was right in the world.

They continued to eat what the royal couple had given them, saving half of it for a later time. Her head was still resting on Killian's shoulder as he started telling them stories of ships and treasures and unknown islands, and she listened to him as Henry was slowly falling asleep. In his tale, he told the story of a princess that looked strangely like her, laughing when she glanced at him with one eyebrow raised in confusion. They stayed there for a while after Henry had completely fallen asleep, to make sure that he wasn't going to wake up. And then they left for their own room.

They were both more than eager to get together, and they'd barely stepped into the room that he'd already taken her dress off. Her hands ran down his chest and stomach, tugging at the fabric of his pants for him to take them off faster. They didn't even bother to lie down on their bed, and they stayed on their feet, against the wall. Her back leaning against it for balance, both her legs wrapped around his naked body and her fingernails digging into the skin of his back as he was entering her, stretching her wonderfully.

They fell together into their pleasure, as she was biting at the thin skin of his neck, everything around her disappearing to leave them and them only. She was shaking and let her orgasm get to the surface, as he was whispering love words in a raspy voice to her ear, wrapped so tightly in their embrace they couldn't tell who was who anymore. "You're so beautiful. So incredibly beautiful."

They stayed still for a few seconds after they'd both got back on earth. She still wasn't touching the ground, and his shaky legs had troubles supporting them both, but they didn't want to move. She buried her face in his neck to kiss him again and again, her hand running through his dark locks as she was searching for the oxygen she was most definitely lacking.

After a while, he ended up moving, and he carried her to the bed, laying her down on the sheets like she was the most precious thing in the world. They didn't put their clothes back on, knowing they were enough to keep warm. She wrapped herself around his naked body once he was settled next to her, her head on his chest to hear his still fast heartbeats, his arm around her to keep her close.

"I love you, Killian." She whispered against his skin as she was feeling the sleep invading her.

He didn't answer, not with words anyway. He pressed a trail of little kisses down her jaw and neck, mouth open and tongue pressed against her skin, making her shiver and lulling her to sleep. She fell asleep in a sigh of pleasure, his comforting warmth against her, knowing that she was so lucky to be there, in the arms of the man that understood her the most in this world. The one who had been and will always be there, no matter what. The one who'd never given up on her.

Her best friend, her lover, her soulmate.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! Before letting you read this chapter, I just wanted to specify something : Snow White and Prince Charming have no idea that Emma is their daughter, not yet anyway. Maybe they'll discover it soon, who knows hehe ? Anyway, thank you all so much once again for your support, and I hope that you'll enjoy this chapter! :)

Emma was woken up at dawn by kisses pressed all over her still naked stomach. She moaned and waited for a second before opening her eyes. She wasn't sure of what time it was and was still half-asleep, but she instantly recognized the touch of Killian's mouth against her skin. Her eyes still closed, she ran her hand through his dark locks, and arched her back to get just a little bit closer to him.

She could feel his breath against her, the way his tongue was playing with her body that he knew by heart, and she finally opened her eyes to look at him. He was kneeling in between her legs, and looked up when he felt that she was awake. He smirked at her then and got up a little bit to reach her breast. He ran his fingers down her chest, and moved his mouth to kiss the skin around her left nipple. She sighed and he chuckled slightly against her, worshiping her like she was the most precious thing in the world.

She could already feel her desire blooming in her lower stomach, and she managed to say in a raspy voice "That's definitely a good way to wake up" It was not like it was an unusual way for them to get out of their sleep, though, and she noticed how his pupils were dilated with lust when he looked back up at her once again.

"Shh, love. You have a long day ahead of you. You deserve to relax a little bit."

"Don't stop, then." She said, what made him laugh once again.

He gently bit at the thin skin of her breast and made her gasp, as she'd closed her eyes again to enjoy the sensations he was making arise in her more easily. She started to move almost unconsciously, gently rocking back and forth as if she were pushing him to go faster, because she was so ready for him she thought it could make her go insane.

"Impatient, are we?" Killian said in a husky voice against her, just before dropping another open-mouthed kiss to her breast. She didn't answer, she was too busy losing herself in his embrace for that, and he added. "Be patient, gorgeous. I want to worship you like the goddess you are."

It made her sigh once again. It always made her feel things in part of her she didn't even know existed when he told her those things. She ran her hands down his back to get him closer to her and she could feel how her own desire was making him feel at the way his arousal was pressing against her thighs.

At her greatest surprise though, he suddenly stopped. She opened her eyes to tell him that it was good and that he could continue, but the way he was looking at her made her change her mind. It wasn't love that she was reading in his gaze, it was pure adoration. As if he were seeing her for the very first time, and she just stayed speechless at the flame burning in his eyes.

"You're perfect, Swan. Absolutely perfect." He whispered then, and she was sure her heart could burst at the tone of his voice.

He didn't give her the time to answer anything. He got back to work, kissing her breast a few more times before finally going down. He took his time, gently teasing her as her breathing had grown faster. He pressed little kisses around her belly-button, moved to her lower stomach, and made his lips run along the inside of her thighs, until it was obvious that they both couldn't wait anymore.

When he finally reached the place she needed him the most, she was sure she was going to lose her mind at the things his tongue was making her feel. She dug her nails into the skin of his back to try and keep quiet, but she completely lost herself, uncertain of where she was anymore. She was just feeling him and his touch, his tongue, his lips against her, and everything disappeared to only leave them there in this bed, him between her legs and her on the verge of her orgasm.

When he got back up to lie down next to her a few moments later, she was still trembling with the strength of her pleasure. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and brought her close, as she was burying her face into the crook of his neck to breathe him in and feel the comfort of his skin. She couldn't help but smile as he was kissing her temple, and she sighed against him, feeling so complete and happy it was hard to believe.

When she opened her eyes after a while, everything around her seemed a bit blurry, as if she were coming out of a dream. She was in some way, because what he'd made her feel was coming right from heaven. He smiled at her when he noticed that she was coming back to earth, and leaned to press a little kiss to the corner of her mouth. His blue eyes were shinning so brightly her heart swelled in her chest, and he beamed at her, looking pretty proud of himself for this amazing awakening.

"Good morning, princess." He whispered as she was reaching his neck to drop a little kiss there as a thank you for everything.

"A very good morning indeed." She answered in a low voice, what made him chuckle slightly. "You're very good, captain."

That made him smile again. "Glad to hear that, love"

"What was that for?" She asked then, because if it wasn't unusual for either of them to wake the other up for some morning sex, this had felt different, almost more intense.

"I've already told you, you've got a long day ahead of you. And I couldn't help myself. That's what waking up next to a naked goddess does to me."

"Well, please, don't hold back then." She said playfully.

"I don't intend to." He chuckled. "I love you, Swan."

"I love you, too."

A comfortable silence settled between them, as they were wrapped in their embrace and holding onto each other, slowly getting back to reality after the intensity of their moment. She was feeling like she was going to fall back asleep, and he was keeping her awake by dropping little kisses to her hair and neck. She was feeling so good she didn't ever want to move. Feeling him that close to her was a blessing, and she would have stayed in that position for days if it'd been a possibility.

After a moment, her exhaustion faded away and she should probably have got out of bed, but she still didn't move a bit and just snuggled a little bit closer to her boyfriend, wanting to enjoy his familiar warmth. He was holding her with so much love her smile wasn't leaving her lips, and she was feeling like it was in his arms that she truly belonged.

She was aware that, soon, she would have to go back to the castle to know who had been chosen by the royal couple. She would have to face them again, but she wasn't scared anymore. She'd actually liked talking to them the day before, and she wasn't nervous because she already knew that she wasn't going to get the job. She wouldn't get disappointed, she was just curious to see who would be the new assistant. She was simply happy to be there in her love's arms, and she knew her day was going to be a good one, since it'd started so well. She could feel it in her bones.

She was still amazed by the trust this man had in her. Sometimes, she almost thought that he was right and that she could indeed do anything if she really wanted to. Living with him had made a new confidence appear in her heart. He'd healed her scars and had promised that he wouldn't let go, and he hadn't. And beside him, she was feeling able to overcome anything life would throw their way.

One day, she knew it, they would be happy. She already was, but soon enough, they would be able to live their dream and wouldn't have to worry about money ever again. They deserved this, despite the mistakes they'd made along the way. After everything they'd been through, they had to reach this happiness someday. And she would keep on holding onto this dream until they could actually accomplish it.

Killian started to talk again after a little while. His hand was running through her tangled hair, and their bodies were as close to each other as they could possibly get. In moments like these, she couldn't really tell where he was beginning and where she was ending anymore, they were one, and she loved that feeling beyond words. "You seem to feel better about going to the castle than you did yesterday."

"Your little morning surprise has to do with that." She chuckled, and he followed, kissing her forehead with a smile. "Seriously, though, you're right." She added after a second of silence. "I know what's awaiting for me there, now. They are so nice. So human. And they liked me, if they asked me to come back. They way they were looking at me when I was talking, I don't really know how to explain it but… It calmed me down. So I'm happy to go back there. And I guess I remind them of their daughter a little bit for them to treat me that way."

"Or maybe they just saw how wonderful you are, and they thought that you would be absolutely perfect for the job." He said, what made her roll her eyes, but she was smiling at the same time, because the confidence he had in her seemed to be endless.

"Of course, that must be it." She mocked gently.

"I'm being serious, Swan. You're amazing. And maybe they saw that, and really think that you'd be the perfect assistant for their daughter."

"You're so sweet." She said, looking back up at him and gently running her fingers down his cheek. "But I really doubt it. I don't want you to get your hopes up and be disappointed at the end of the day. I'm just going to go and see, but I'm pretty sure they won't choose me anyway."

"I'll never be disappointed in you, Emma." He whispered to her ear, so gently her heart skipped a beat. "You're incredible. I just wish you could see yourself the way I see you. As the most perfect angel I've ever met."

"Gods, I love you." Was the only thing she managed to say back, her eyes filling in with tears.

"I love you too, my world."

She snuggled a bit closer to him, and they stayed in that position for another while, just taking into each other's scent, touch, skin, enjoying this wonderful certitude that they were meant to be together. She belonged there beside him, and she was feeling more complete with him and Henry by her side than she'd ever thought possible. He was perfect to her, and she couldn't believe this man actually existed, sometimes. This amazing man who'd healed her heart and had made her feel loved and safe, maybe for the first time in her life.

She only started to talk again after a few minutes. She wanted to enjoy his presence first, but she also needed to share what she was suddenly thinking about after their tender moment. "You know, I really hope that they're going to find their daughter soon. I know the fact she's still alive seems impossible, but I want to believe that she is out there somewhere. They deserve to be reunited with their family. And she'd be so loved at the castle. They adore her, even though they don't know her. It's beautiful. Could you imagine this little orphan finally coming back home?"

"It would be wonderful, indeed." He said, but she could tell at the sound of his voice that he was holding something back. She waited patiently for him to continue, giving him the time he needed to find the right words. "I just wish the same thing had happened to you." He finally added in a soft voice. "You deserve to find your family, and I'm sorry you never did."

"If they abandoned me, it's that they didn't want me anyway." She answered, maybe a bit more abruptly than she would have wanted to." What's the point of meeting them if they don't care about me?"

"Maybe they didn't have a choice. I just want you to have the family that you deserve."

She moved a little bit to be able to look at him, and titled her head as she was saying. "I have a family, babe. I have you and Henry. And you're all that I need."

She watched his eyes enlightening at her words, and he leaned to press a long, passionate kiss on her lips as a quiet thank you for her statement. She knew how much this meant to him. He'd been a lost boy too, he'd thought he would never find someone who truly loved him again. And here they were now, together against the world, as it'd always been. They'd healed each other. And she knew they would stay that way until the end of time.

She realized that, before meeting him, she would never have said those things to someone. She'd been hurt too many times, and wanted to protect her heart. She was mistrustful, closed to any kind of love aside from Henry's, who had been her light in the dark ever since his birth. But Killian had come along and had brought all her walls down, one by one, by showing her that she wasn't worthless. She'd started to trust him. She had fallen head over heels in love with him, and she knew these feelings she had toward this amazing man were never going to fade away. Thanks to him and her little boy, she was happier than ever.

Gods, she loved them so much. The family she'd never thought she would have someday.

They stayed in bed for another little while, just cuddling and enjoying each other's presence, before finally deciding to move and get dressed. They needed to wake Henry up, and she had to get to the castle soon. She put on her favorite dress, the one she'd worn for Henry's birthday all those years ago, the first time she'd realized in the back of her mind that maybe Killian could be her future.

He looked at her in awe when he saw her gown and her hair falling in gentle waves in her back, and simply said. "You look stunning, Swan."

"That's what you said all those years ago, too." She chuckled, realizing he'd used the same words and was wearing the same look on his face. "For Henry's birthday, the first time we really got close. Remember?"

"How could I forget?" he answered, approaching her to press a kiss to the tip of her nose, and she laughed. "You looked so beautiful you took my breath away. And you still do, every time I look at you."

"You're a good talker, you know that?" She sighed with a small smile. "When you say those things, I just want to kiss you and never let go."

"What holds you back, then?" he asked playfully.

"The fact that I can't be late."

She smiled at the disappointed expression he offered her, and pressed a quick peck on his lips before pulling away for good. She had to go wake Henry up, she wanted to share a breakfast with her family before going to the castle, just to spend as much time as she could with them. They were her oxygen, and she would have spent every minute of the day with them if she'd been able to.

Henry woke up with a smile on his face. He was obviously still convinced that she was going to be chosen to be the assistant, and she didn't want to tell him otherwise. He looked so incredibly happy, and they just ate and talked and laughed, enjoying the leftovers of what the Queen had given her the day before. She was feeling nothing but love and pride as she was looking at these two amazing people next to her, and she sighed in happiness, etching these moments into her memory, wanting to remember them years from now.

She left a little bit later. She couldn't be late, and if she would have wanted to stay with her boys for a bit longer, she was also impatient to know who had been chosen to be the assistant after all. As they'd done so the day before, Killian and Henry accompanied her, and they parted in the forest. She was feeling so different than the last time they'd done this. She wasn't scared or nervous anymore, just happy, relaxed. Today was going to be a good day, even when she would know for sure that she hadn't got the job. She was so sure of it.

Henry hugged her, Killian kissed her, and they both held her tight and told her that she would do great. Their words and confidence were almost giving her the hope that she had a chance to get this job after all, but she forced herself to stifle this idea. She didn't want to be disappointed at the end of the day. They would be okay, whatever was going to happen in this castle. They would end up getting a job no matter what, and she knew that these meetings with the royal couple had given her the confidence she had been lacking before to finally get the job they needed. She was now sure that she could anything. And her family would be all right eventually.

* * *

This time, it's serene that Emma walked through the castle gates. She even smiled back at the guards when they grinned at her, as they knew what she was doing there and that she'd passed the first test. Her heart was beating a bit fast, but it was more out of impatience than fear. She was in a wonderful mood and knew that nothing could go wrong. She was just happy to be there again, and to be able to maybe share one last conversation with this lovely couple that had made her feel so safe.

She didn't hesitate before entering the common room, that day. She was sure that the girls that were going to be there this time were not the ones that had seemed arrogant and judgmental, and she wasn't feeling uncomfortable anymore. Closing the door behind her back, she was surprised to notice that there were way fewer candidates than she'd expected. She counted eight, her included, and she frowned, only realizing now how picky the couple had been.

She felt a wave of pride invading her as she was now aware of how important it was that she was actually there. She'd been chosen because they'd liked her, and only a few other girls were in the same position. That was huge, given where she was coming from.

She thought about the little girl she'd once been, sleeping in a dark street and dreaming about a better life. She'd reached that life, despite everything she'd had to go through, she had a wonderful son, a loving partner, and she was now standing in a castle. Life could definitely take odd turns, and she decided to just enjoy the fact that she was there on that moment, a victory she was taking over life that had tried to break her for so long.

She was about to walk further into the room to go join the little group of girls there when a familiar voice made her stop. "Leia!"

She turned immediately, recognizing her fake name. She'd got used to it with the months that had passed, and was now responding to it like it was her own. This name that had given her the opportunity to be there today, to start over after the mistakes she'd made, to have a second chance. This name that was her way to a better life, someday.

She smiled when she recognized the person that had called her name. It was Chiara, the girl with whom she'd shared a few words the day before. She was there, beaming, her short brown hair a bit tousled by the wind and her huge eyes shinning in excitement. It was merely impossible not to smile back at her.

Emma took a few steps to join her, and she said sincerely :"Hi! I'm so glad that you're here today, too!"

"I'm happy to see you as well!" She answered joyfully. "I knew they were going to love you, though. I'm a bit surprised that we're only a few girls here, you know?" She added, glancing around her to watch the other women there. "I was expecting to see a lot more candidates. That makes me even happier to be here today."

They started to walk to go join the group, and Emma noticed how glad she looked, almost bouncing up and down as she was moving forward. "I'm surprised too. I think the King and the Queen trust their instincts a lot. I'm just so happy that they seemed to like the both of us."

"That's insane, isn't it?" Chiara said, opening her eyes wide, and Emma realized that she definitely liked that girl. She was spontaneous and honest, and she really hoped she would be the one to get the job, since it was impossible that she was going to become the new assistant herself. "I just came here yesterday because I thought that it was worth a try, and here I am now. I feel like I'm in a dream. I've worked on the fields my all life and now I'm standing in a castle, and I can't believe it's real. What about you?" She asked then. "Are you from around here?"

"I only moved in here a few months ago. But it's a nice region. I like it." She was staying purposely vague, not wanting to lie more than necessary to this girl. She hated the idea that she had to hide the truth from her. In other circumstances, she was almost sure they could have been true friends.

"I'm glad that you like it here. I lived here my entire life. I'd like to travel someday, but for now I'm fine here. It's my home, you know?"

She was pleasantly talkative, what allowed Emma to quickly learn more about her. Chiara explained that she was the eldest of five children, and that she'd been raised in a farm. She'd helped her parents for her entire childhood, and she had now moved in a little house standing not so far from where the Dome had once been and was living with one of her little sisters. She was breeding cows, chickens and flocks of sheep, and was selling eggs and milk to the market in one of the smaller towns nearby. She was trying for this job to get a better wage and send a bit of money to her parents, who were beginning to struggle to keep their fields alive.

Emma answered her questions and talked a bit about her, or about Leia and the life she'd invented for her. She was trying not to lie too much, simply telling half-truths and ignoring the guilt that was rising in her chest. Chiara was so sweet, and she resented the idea that she had to lie. So she just lingered on safe subjects and didn't talk about important things, knowing it was probably for the best.

Chiara was as good of a listener as she was of a talker, and she nodded while listening to Emma, looking genuinely interested by the conversation. Emma found herself so invested in the discussion that she didn't hear the royal couple entering the room right away. It's only as the silence was falling around her and as the small group was moving for a bow, that she realized Snow White and Prince Charming were standing there before her. Kate, the Queen's assistant, was also there and was holding a bit back and smiling at the crowd.

She turned hastily with Chiara to imitate the other girls a second too late, and cursed herself internally for not paying better attention. She couldn't believe she hadn't been more focused and was scared that she'd ruined everything, but when she discreetly looked up to watch the couple, she noticed that they were smiling at her. She blinked, realizing that the thought was completely absurd. They weren't grinning at her, but at the entire group. She was aware of that and couldn't believe that this idea had crossed her mind even for a minute.

She quickly relaxed though, helped by the fact that she was way more confident than she'd been the day before. She was so happy to have gotten that far in the race for the job, and her conversation with Chiara had put her in an even better mood. She wasn't hoping for anything, now. She knew there was no way she would get the job, despite her family's trust in her. And that was okay. She was just glad and decided to enjoy the moment as best as she could.

When the King gestured for all of them to stand back up, she glanced around her and couldn't help but smile a little bit. She'd always trusted her instincts, and as she was watching the other girls beside her, she could tell without the shadow of a doubt that the couple had been right to trust all these women.

They all seemed sweet, kind, and were smiling almost shyly, like they couldn't believe that they were still there. She felt suddenly so happy that the Princess would have such a warm presence in her life. If she did get back home someday, she would have someone to lean on, someone good, and it was all that mattered. That was all that a lost little girl needed.

The Queen started to talk then, and Emma turned to look at her. Her smile made her heart flutter, and she listened to her carefully, oddly glad to hear her comforting voice. "We would like to thank all of you for coming here today once again. We are so, so happy to see you and we truly hope that you feel at home in this castle."

"Our decision hasn't been an easy one to take." The King said, his fingers intertwined with his wife's, what made Emma smile slightly. "If you are here today, it's that we saw something in every single one of you. We would like to thank you for the absolute kindness you showed in your interviews yesterday.

"And that's why we have something important to tell you all."

Emma frowned, suddenly intrigued by the turn the conversation was taking. The Queen seemed overexcited, and she looked so young as she was beaming at her husband. Emma wondered what the hell was happening, and turned to share a glance with Chiara, who just shrugged at her with a smile. The other girls seemed as clueless as they both were, and the couple seemed to enjoy this a lot, because they were staring at the group with huge grins on their faces.

Emma suddenly felt strangely excited as well, as if she knew that she was about to hear good news. She had no way of knowing that, but she could just feel it. She watched the couple, her heart pounding so fast in her chest. She'd come there to know who was going to be the Princess' assistant, but she could tell somehow that the words they were about to share were going to change her life in one way or another.

"As you know, we live in a very big castle." The King stated. "And there is a lot of work to do here, we need cooks, gardeners, everything you can possibly think of. When the Princess will join us soon, the work to do will be even more important"

Emma chose to set her excitement aside for a minute as the hope audible in the King's voice was making her heart tighten. He seemed so convinced his little girl was coming back, she prayed every gods she could think of that the Princess was safe and alive, and would find her way back home soon. This couple deserved to have their family reunited. And she would be so loved, there. If the universe was fair, they had to find her. It couldn't be otherwise, and she wanted to believe it.

"If we asked you to come back here today." He added, and Emma started to listen again, because she knew that something important was happening . "It's that we trust you, all of you. We talked about it a lot, but for those who aren't going to get chosen as the Princess' assistant, we have an offer for you."

He was beaming now, his eyes shinning so joyfully Emma couldn't help but smile as well. She could somehow guess what he was about to announce them, and her heart started to pound even faster against her ribs. It seemed impossible, and yet the way he was staring at them told her that maybe she wasn't wrong. Maybe she was right to have hope.

Internally, she gave herself the strict order to calm down. She was probably imagining things, and she didn't want to get her hopes up for nothing. She didn't want to be disappointed at the end of the day. Whatever was going to happen, she was just happy to have made it this far. She just had to remember that.

"For those of you who are interested, we would like to offer you a job in this castle." Emma's breath got stuck in her throat, and for a minute, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. The King's words seemed so surreal she wasn't sure she wasn't dreaming. "We would like for you to tell us what would interest you, and how you think you can help us. It's without obligation, of course, you're the ones to choose if you want to stay or not. If the assistant will have lots of advantages these jobs don't have, you'll be fed twice a day, and a good wage is awaiting for you."

"We didn't want to let you all go with nothing after the great impression you made yesterday." The Queen added. "We really hope that the offer pleases you, and that we'll be able to work with you someday."

Emma wasn't sure for how long she stopped breathing, she just knew that when the actual thought that all of this was real reached her mind, her lungs started functioning again. She couldn't believe this. She was feeling like she was dreaming and was going to wake up in Killian's arms in a few seconds. She felt almost dizzy, and discreetly pinched herself to make sure that she wasn't hallucinating.

The pain crept along her skin, and she almost gasped in surprise.

All of this was real. She was actually going to work at the castle.

Whatever happened next, she was going to have a job. She would be able to earn money and bring food back home for her family. Maybe even save enough to go live their dream, someday. It all seemed so surreal. She was feeling like bursting out laughing at these news, and had to hold herself back in order not to draw attention on her and make everyone think that she was insane.

On that moment, she could only think about Henry and Killian's faces when she would tell them about these wonderful news. They were going to be thrilled. Henry was going to hug her so tight, and Killian was going to kiss her into oblivion. The royal couple didn't know that they existed, but she could go and meet them after her shifts every night, and they could still be a family. They were going to be so proud. Damn, she was so proud of herself for once.

"We will talk with you about all the details later." The King interrupted Emma in her thoughts, and she only noticed there the excited whispers that had filled in the room, and the way the other girls were looking at the couple like they were about to tell them that they'd been joking all along. No one could believe what was happening to them, and it was incredibly beautiful. Turning to look at Chiara, she realized she had tears in her eyes, and she smiled. Everything was right in he world. "But meanwhile, we want to tell you all who we've chosen to be the Princess' assistant."

"As Charming said it before, there are advantages to this, of course." The Queen said, smiling at the group's enthusiasm. "Kate is my assistant for years now, and I trust her with all that I have. She helps me with my hair and dresses, of course, but she does so much more than that. She gives me advice, wonderful ones that I always follow. We're so close, she's a member of our family. And the candidate that will get the job today will be as well. It's so much more than a good wage and working in a castle. It's being part of this team that we are here. We want the Princess to be able to trust the people around her, and that's why we chose the assistant so carefully."

"After talking for hours, we finally took a decision, and we truly think that it's the right one. We're also so happy that all of you will have an opportunity to keep on working here after today. But for this job, we chose the person who touched us the most. The girl that we think would perfectly take care of our daughter." The King explained seriously.

The Queen took a deep breath, and not a sound was audible in the room. Everyone was waiting for Snow White to finally say the name of the girl that had been chosen. Emma was shivering with impatience, and stared at the couple as the Queen was saying. "So, we would like to ask Leia Stark to come join us here."

Emma didn't react right away when she heard her fake name. She still couldn't proceed the idea that she was going to work at the castle anyway, and she didn't register the fact that the couple had actually called her. She'd never imagined it could happen, and when the other girls followed Snow White's gaze and turned to stare at her, her breath suddenly got stuck in her throat.

She wasn't sure if this was really happening, and she almost wanted to pinch herself a second time to check if it wasn't all a dream. The fact they'd chosen her among all of these people seemed so impossible, so surreal. She had to have misheard or she hadn't understood something. She was merely wrong about their intentions and they weren't calling her name for that reason.

It's only when she heard Chiara gasping in excitement beside her that the reality of the situation finally hit her all at once. She'd understood correctly, and she wasn't sure how to breathe anymore. For the second time in the span of a few minutes, she was speechless. Her eyes widened as she was still staring at the couple, and she felt like she was floating above the ground. This moment was going to change her life forever, she could tell and, somehow, she still couldn't believe that all of this was real.

But she had to accept the obvious. She'd been chosen by the royal couple. They trusted her, they'd liked her, and they were now smiling at her like she was already part of their family. Her, the little orphan, the beggar who had been starving in the streets, the woman who'd been abandoned over and over again and had once thought that she was worthless. She'd been chosen by these people.

Her life was definitely taking an unexpected turn. After all the pain, she was seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and she suddenly couldn't wait for what the future had in store for her and her family.

She was still frozen on the spot though, not knowing how to react, but she realized she was now smiling. It's only when the King chuckled at her reaction that she finally came back to reality, and she blinked to make sure that she wasn't going to wake up from this dream.

She understood that she should probably be saying something, but when she opened her mouth to thank them for their trust, nothing came out. She met the Queen's green gaze then, and she was smiling at her so gently that she finally remembered how to breathe again. She gestured for her to approach and, as if attracted by an unknown strength, she started to walk to go join her.

"Everything's fine, Leia. You can come." Snow White said to encourage her.

An endless and unexpected calm suddenly invaded her completely, and she didn't lose her smile as she was reaching the place where the couple was standing. The Queen took her shaky hand in hers, as if to show her that everything was going to be okay and that she didn't have to be scared. Feeling her maternal touch, she finally allowed herself to relax completely, and let go of a small trembling breath, tears filling in her eyes as she was realizing what all of this actually meant.

She was going to earn a lot of money and bring food back home. Her family wouldn't be starving ever again. Beyond the pride of having got this job, she would now be able to offer a decent future to her son. She had just proved the entire world that she could do anything, that she was more than a thief and an orphan. To hell with Calvin and Eric and everyone who'd told her she was nothing, she'd proved them wrong, she'd showed that she was more than the way they'd treated her, and damn, it felt so good.

More important, she'd proved to herself that she wasn't worthless.

The King offered her a warm smile as well, and placed his hand on her shoulder, and the spark she read in his eyes bore a pride that she couldn't understand just yet. Snow White was gently stroking her hand with her thumb, and she felt so reassured, the same feeling she'd once had as Judy was reading her stories before going to bed when she was a little girl. It was odd, but on that moment, it felt so natural, so familiar. And she lost herself in the Queen's gaze with the strange feeling of belonging right where she was now.

She finally turned back to face the group of women after a few more seconds, and she noticed that, if most of them seemed a bit disappointed that they hadn't been chosen, they were all offering her sincere smiles of congratulations. They seemed genuinely happy for her, and her heart grew twice its size in her chest.

She met Chiara's gaze, and noticed that she had the biggest smile on her face, one that was digging dimples into her cheeks. Her expression made her chuckle as she was slowly realizing that it wasn't a joke, and she looked up at the tall ceiling, feeling like she could do anything.

Because she'd done it. She'd actually done the impossible.

"Congratulations." The Queen then whispered to her ear, and she felt herself blush at these words, because she was so damn happy it felt surreal.

"You deserve this." The King added with a wink, before turning to the group and starting to talk again. "Ladies, as promised, those interested by working here can go to talk with Kate about this opportunity. As I said, it's not an obligation, but we'd be thrilled to have all of you here. Thank you for coming here today, and for those who will choose to stay, welcome to the castle!"

Without surprise, the entire group moved to join Kate, who was standing a bit back, as she was smiling at them and seemed sincerely happy that she would get to work with these new people. Emma shared one last glance with Chiara, who was still grinning at her, and as her friend was walking away to go talk with the Queen's assistant, she found herself alone with the royal couple.

She didn't really know what to do or say, so she just chose to smile almost shyly at them, not knowing how she would be able to explain them how much this opportunity meant to her. She was so surprised that they'd liked her in the first place, and it was hard to imagine that she was actually going to work in this palace.

On that moment, she couldn't wait to announce the news to Killian and Henry. They'd been right since the beginning, she could do anything, and they were going to be so incredibly thrilled. She just wanted to hug them and could already feel Killian's lips brushing against hers as he would surely tell her that he loved her more than anything in the world, making butterflies appear in the pit of her stomach, as always.

But for now, she knew this moment was important. She wanted to etch every single second of it in her memory and remember this as the day she'd allowed her life to change completely. The Queen opened her mouth to talk again then, and she grabbed Emma's other hand, pulling her closer. She was surprised to notice that it seemed so natural. And she suddenly felt like she'd known Snow White since the beginning of time.

"Welcome here, Leia. We can't even begin to tell you how happy we are to have you here with us. We know you're going to be the perfect assistant for the Princess."

"I don't know what to say." Emma finally murmured. "I'm so glad… Thank you so much for trusting me..."

"We should be the ones to thank you." The King answered. "You're willing to work by our sides, and we couldn't be happier."

"I'm just.. I wasn't expecting this." She admitted with a little chuckle. "I never thought I would be here right now."

"I can see that." The Queen giggled, and her eyes lit up completely. "But you shouldn't be surprised. You're an incredible woman, Leia. I don't know you that well yet, and if I can't wait to learn more about you, I already can see that you don't give yourself enough credits. You're smart and kind, and I can tell that you are a good person. Your sincerity during the interview touched our hearts. That's why we chose to work with you."

A frown briefly replaced her smile as the Queen's words were reaching her, and a pain appeared in the pit of her stomach at the guilt she was suddenly feeling. She was so incredibly happy to have gotten the job and hadn't had the time to come back from her dream yet, and she was only realizing now that they'd chosen her just because she'd lied in the first place. So much for sincerity. They didn't know who she really was. She'd lied about everything, even her name was a fiction.

If she'd told them the truth, they would have thrown her in a cell and she would never have got out again. If they knew that she was Emma Swan, they would be scared of her, not proud. Sure, she'd been forced to steal to survive in her former region. Sure, she'd understood with time that if she still regretted what she'd done and if that feeling would probably never fade away, killing this guard back then had only been to protect the man she loved. But she was still a criminal, and the couple didn't know that. They would never have trusted her with their daughter if they had known her true identity. They thought she'd been honest with them, and that was the only reason why she was standing there now.

They'd liked Leia, not Emma.

She shook her head, forcing herself to put these dark thoughts back where they belonged, deep inside of her. She didn't want to linger on these feelings. She hated the fact that she had lied to them because they deserved the truth, but she hadn't had a choice. She'd taken this decision when she'd chosen to come to this interview, and if she hadn't thought it would have any kind of consequences because she had never imagined she would actually get the job, she still had been forced to lie in order to stay safe.

And she had to remember that Leia wasn't that different from Emma. It wasn't her real name and she'd lied about some parts of her life, but she'd still known pain, heartbreaks and hardships. She hadn't lied about that. She hadn't lied about who she really was. She'd acted like Emma Swan would have, and she hadn't played a part while talking with the couple.

She had been chosen because she'd done good, she had to accept that. Thinking the opposite was only going to make her feel bad and stop her from enjoying the happiness of getting this incredible job. She refused to let her feelings get in the way of this special moment. She'd made it, and she had the right to be proud. She'd done what she needed to in order to survive, and now she had to convince herself that she was a good person. She had to forgive herself for everything.

Luckily, none of her two new employers had noticed her sudden turmoil. They were too busy being happy that they'd finally found someone for their daughter, and were still looking at her with so much pride it made her feel all better. If they were that glad to have her by their side, they had a reason for it. She had to trust herself for once. Everything would be all right.

The King started to talk again, and Emma chose to forget about her doubts to carefully listen to what he had to say. "If you have any questions, Leia, we'll be happy to answer them. But for now, we'd like to directly start your training. We know you don't necessarily have experience in this field, so you'll be working with Kate and my wife to be ready for when the Princess will join us. She's going to need all the support she can get, and we're sure you'll take over the job perfectly."

"You'll be sleeping here in this castle." The Queen then added with enthusiasm. "You'll be fed, and a very good wage is awaiting for you."

Emma's heart tightened again at these words. She'd never thought about the fact that a room could be provided to her in the palace and, suddenly, she felt like everything was spinning around her. If she slept in this castle and worked all day long, she would be far from her family at all time. How the hell would she be able to see Henry and Killian if she was here day and night?

Unable to even think about the idea of being separated from the people she loved the most, she answered. "Wait, I'll be sleeping here? I didn't know it was provided with the job." She said, trying to stop her heart from pounding too fast. She had to calm down, she was going to find a solution. Nothing could keep her away from her family.

"Of course it is!" Snow White answered joyfully. "It's a huge advantage, since you won't have to pay for a home yourself, and you'll be able to save a lot of money. And we need you here. You have to be there at all time if the Princess ever needs you during the night, you know? Your room is right next to hers, by the way. Would you like to see it?"

Emma's first impulse was to protest. She couldn't accept this room, and being separated from her son and boyfriend was unthinkable, she just couldn't. She would give up on this job in a heartbeat if accepting it was stopping her from being with her family. She couldn't even imagine what it would be like to be away from them, her world was revolving around the both of them, and she would be so lost if she was far from her home.

But she quickly understood that she couldn't argue. She had to keep this job, because they needed money and she couldn't let her family down. With this wage, she would be able to offer her son the future he truly deserved, and they would have enough gold to go around the world someday and live their dream all together. This situation wouldn't last forever. She couldn't let her feelings get in the way of this job and get herself fired before she had even started to work.

Because if she asked the Queen to keep on sleeping at the farm she was supposed to live in, she would surely guess that something wasn't right. It wouldn't make any sense, and as Snow White had said it, they needed her there and she couldn't tell them that she wasn't accepting every condition. This was the opportunity of a lifetime, not only for her but for the people she loved, and she couldn't give that all up because she was afraid of not seeing them as much as she wanted to.

And she would find a way to still be with them. She always did, because nothing could keep them apart. She was going to talk about it with Killian, and they would find a plan for her to come and join them when no one was looking. Maybe during the night, if it was safe. She could discreetly get out of the castle and go back to her son and boyfriend to spend time with them.

With a bit of luck, she would also have days where she wouldn't be asked to work, and she would be able to stay with them a bit. She knew nothing could make them grow apart. She was doing this for them, and she was going to fight so they could stay together. She wouldn't accept anything else than that.

She only noticed there that the Queen was actually waiting for her to tell her if she wanted to see the room. She blinked and promised herself to talk about all of this with Killian later, and she finally smiled to answer. "Would it be all right of we did this tomorrow? I have to go tell my employers that I'm leaving them, since I'll be sleeping here from now on." She explained, finding an excuse to go join her family as soon as possible.

They immediately nodded to show her that they were agreeing with her idea. "Of course, you probably have hundreds of things to do." The King said. "We'll meet you here tomorrow morning, and we'll explain everything to you then. You should go gather your things and take some rest, for now. Tomorrow is going to be a big day. The start of a new life, right?"

It made her smile. She chose to forget about all her worries for a while, just focusing on his sincere smile and on the fact that she'd made it, she was where she wanted to be. She squeezed the Queen's hands in hers, and whispered with tears in her eyes, because despite her fears, she was still so damn glad that she'd got the job after all.

"Thank you for everything. It really… It means a lot."

"Thank  _you_." Snow White answered immediately. "I can't wait to really learn to know you, Leia."

They shared another long glance, and a lonely tear rolled down Emma's cheek as she was appreciating how big it was to be there.

She didn't know how, she didn't know why, but she could feel that both of these strangers were going to mean a lot to her. She could see it at the way they were looking at her and at the odd sensation at the pit of her stomach as she was watching them. She felt safe, and if it was definitely strange because she didn't know them, she chose not to ask herself to many questions. It felt too good to try to understand it.

* * *

The sun was already starting to get lower in the sky when Emma arrived in the harbor. She'd stayed longer than expected in the palace, even after she'd explained to the couple that she had to go. They'd just talked and talked, and by the time she was making her way back to the city, the evening was slowly settling.

She'd almost run for the entire way, more than impatient to finally go tell the good news to Killian and Henry. She'd chosen to forget about the fear this room awaiting for her at the castle was making arise in her, for now. She also wanted her family to enjoy the news properly, especially her son. Henry had always imagined her as being a princess, and she was going to work at the palace now. She wanted him to focus on that. He would realize soon enough that the couple didn't know about him and that she would have to stay in the castle for longer than expected. She just wanted him to be innocently happy for a little while, because he deserved it so much.

And she was glad too, despite everything. She was happy that they both hadn't trusted her for nothing, and that she was going to make them proud. All she did, she was doing it for them and she wanted them to appreciate what these news really meant. So when she finally saw the ship, her home, she couldn't help herself. She started to run even faster, her heels clicking against the ground, lifting the bottom of her dress up so she wouldn't trip on it.

She could see Killian standing on deck, waiting for her like he'd done the day before. Her son wasn't there, and she guessed that he was probably reading in his room, as always. She waved at her boyfriend as she was approaching him, and yelled while running up the boarding ramp.

"Killian!"

She was so excited she didn't even think that no one knew Killian under his real name in this region. She shouldn't have called him that way, but she was so happy she couldn't realize it fully. Luckily, the harbor was empty and she was already on the ship, so no one heard her. It was good to be alone in this place, she thought. At least they could enjoy this moment as their true selves. Killian, Henry and Emma against the world, like it'd always been.

She stood on deck for a moment, just watching him staying still a few feet from her. He would normally have come to greet her immediately, but he had probably understood that something important was going on. He was watching her with a mix of excitement and pride shinning in his gaze, and she imagined the smile that would spread on his face when he would learn that their future was sure now, and that it was going to be absolutely wonderful. He hadn't been wrong to trust her for all these years, she thought with a wide grin.

"I've got the job!" She said in a low voice, panting and feeling like saying it out loud was almost too much for her.

She wasn't sure if he'd heard her for a second, but she suddenly saw his eyes widening in awe, and she knew. He'd understood, and he was standing there, watching her like she had just brought him the moon. As if to engrave the information into her new reality, she said again, almost yelling this time, because she was finally realizing that it was all real while sharing the news with the man she loved.

"I've got the job!"

"You did it, Swan." He said then, and she could hear the emotion in his voice. "You actually did it!"

It was as if they'd awoken with these words. She suddenly started to move again to run into his arms, and he grabbed her waist as she was reaching him, lifting her up from the ground and holding her so close to him she could hear his heartbeats. He made her spin and she actually giggled, as she could feel his own joy invading her completely. He was so happy, she could sense it in her bones, and when he chuckled, their laughter rose to the sky like a promise of a better future.

He kept her in his arms for a very long time then, and it's only much later that he put her back on her feet. They pulled away for a second to look at each other, and the pride she read in his features made her heart stutter. He didn't give her the time to say anything, to explain what had happened or to express how happy she was, he grabbed her by the hips again and pulled her to him, so fast that their mouths collided.

She almost lost her balance with the strength of their embrace, but his arms held her up and they kissed and kissed until they couldn't breathe anymore. He was telling her everything that he felt right there, he was expressing how happy, proud and amazed he was, and the time stopped around them as they were becoming one, not knowing who was who anymore and their hearts beating in unison.

When they parted after a long time, he looked at her with pure adoration and murmured against her lips. "You are amazing, Emma. Bloody hell, I love you. I love you so much."

"I love you, too. I knew you'd be happy." She said, stroking his cheek and completely lost in the blue of his eyes.

"I'm more than that, love. I'm just… You're the most wonderful person that I know, and I'm so bloody proud to be spending my life by your side."

She just grabbed his jacket and pulled him back to her then, because she wasn't sure what to answer in order not to break their moment. Sometimes, the most important things weren't told with words, and she said them with her lips instead. He understood her, she could tell by the way he was holding her close, like he never wanted to let her go. On that moment, she'd forgotten about the bad news of the room awaiting for her at the castle. They were all alone in the world and she couldn't think about anything else than him, his touch, his scent, his entire and perfect self.

After a while, she pulled away to press her forehead against his, and whispered against his lips, her smile never leaving her. "We should tell Henry."

"He's going to be so happy." Killian said, his fingers running through her tangled hair.

"I know." She grinned, a happy, thrilled smile that made Killian kiss her lips one last time.

Their hands still intertwined, they walked to Henry's room. She remembered how they'd done the exact same thing the day before, and how her son had smiled at the news that she'd passed the first test. This time, it was going to be even more intense, and she just couldn't wait. She was going to tell him that she'd got the job, and he was going to look at her with his huge eyes and she would be sure that she'd made him truly happy. That's all she ever wanted. To make the people she loved happy.

Henry was laying in his bed, exactly as the day before. This time though, he only stood still and looked at her without coming to hug her, understanding at his parents' smiles that something important was happening. Emma shared a glance with Killian, tears in her eyes at the news she was going to announce her baby boy, and she approached him, running her hand through his hair before saying in a whisper.

"I did it, kid."

"What do you mean?" He asked, as if he were scared to believe something that wasn't true.

"I got it. The job. I'm the new assistant."

He blinked, and for a second, he didn't say a thing. He looked like he couldn't believe what was happening, and she smiled at him, waiting for him to say something. Finally, he looked back up at her and said in a low voice. "Are you serious? You're going to work at the castle?"

"I am" She just answered, and the grin that appeared on Henry's face then was worth everything in the world.

He almost made her lose her balance once again as he was wrapping his arms around her. Snow White's story had always been his favorite, and she could imagine how special it was for him that she was going to work with her. He probably would have to give up on the idea that she was the Lost Princess now, because Snow White hadn't recognized her like she would have done it in his dreams, but it was still something big. And she could tell how happy he was by the way he was hugging her. "You did it, Mom! You really did it!"

They stayed for a very long time there, simply hugging each other, and Killian ended up joining them for a collective embrace that made her heart swell in her chest. They were so close in the happiness they were sharing, and all their fears disappeared to only leave place to the impossible : the lost little girl was going to work in a palace. It was beautiful and crazy and absolutely wonderful, and they were saying all those things by simply holding onto each other, their hug tender and intense and so  _real_.

When they finally pulled away, Henry dragged them to his bed and made them sit down, asking Emma to tell them everything that had happened. She talked about her moments at the castle, her smile never leaving her, but she wavered when the time to talk about the room at the palace arrived. It only lasted for a second, though, as she decided that it was a subject she needed to talk about with Killian first. They had to decide what to do together before telling the news to their little boy. He was going to be sad, surely, and she didn't want to ruin this moment. She wanted him to stay happy for now. It was better that way.

It's only much later, as the night was well settled and the stars were shinning in the dark blue sky, that Henry fell asleep in their arms, lulled by the stories she was telling him. They made sure that he was actually asleep, then walked back to their room to be alone for a bit. She was frowning now, knowing the conversation she was going to have with her boyfriend wasn't going to be an easy one. She didn't want to hurt him by explaining to him the only problem she was facing with the job that had been offered to her, but they had to decide on what to do together.

However, when she turned to finally tell him about the weight on her shoulders, he didn't give her the time to say one thing.

He grabbed her waist again, his blue eyes darkened by the lust burning in it. With this simple view, she forgot about everything she wanted to tell him, feeling his skin against hers and her own desire blooming in her stomach at the way he was looking at her. He made her move back to the table in the middle of the room, and without notice, he lifted her up from the ground to make her sit on it.

He started kissing her then, so passionately she moaned against his lips. His tongue asked for an entrance she gave right away, and his taste invaded her completely as she was losing herself in his touch. After taking her dress off hastily, he laid her down on the table, without parting from her once, and found himself straddling her, his hand running down her body and making her shiver in pleasure. The coldness of the wood in her back was contrasting with his warmth, and she felt like she could just turn insane at the things he was making her feel.

It was rough, that night. They both liked rough sex, but they also liked to take their time too, sometimes, to enjoy each other fully. It wasn't the case now. She had to dig her nails into his back and bite at the skin of his neck to avoid screaming her pleasure at the ceiling.

It's at the same time that they reached their orgasm, and he laid above her when they were done, still shaking and trying to find their way back to earth, holding onto each other like they were the only ones in the world. They were panting, somehow stunned by the waves of pleasure that had run over them, and she couldn't believe how good it felt. How good he was feeling.

When they finally found themselves able to breathe again, he carried her to their bed and gently laid her down on it, contrasting with how harsh their moment had been before. He looked at her like she was an angel coming right from heaven, then pulled her to him as she was snuggling against him, their legs tangled beneath the sheets. There, he whispered to her ear :

"I am so bloody proud of you, you wonderful woman."

She smiled and, perhaps for the first time, she felt like maybe he was right to feel that way.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! I don't really have anything special to say today, except that I wanted to thank you again for all your support. This fiction really means the world to me because it's been my own way of coping with Emma not being in the show anymore, and it's how I understood that she will never truly leave me. So thank you so much for everything !

"Killian? I have to talk to you about something." Emma started in a low voice, breaking the silence of the night.

They were laying in bed, wrapped around each other, their legs tangled and her head resting on his chest. The sheets were the only things covering their naked bodies, but they weren't cold, just enjoying the other's warmth and this quiet moment after their intense embrace. Emma would have wanted to enjoy this much longer, forever even, but her worries were weighing on her shoulders, and she felt like she had to talk about everything that had happened to her boyfriend.

She felt him move against her, so he was able to see her more easily. He looked at her and the concern she read in his gaze made her frown. She wanted to tell him that he didn't have to worry that much, that she was okay, but she felt his heart fastening against his ribs, as if he were actually scared of something.

"You okay?" She asked, worried by his behavior.

"What's going on?" He said then without answering her question. "Did I do something wrong?"

"What?" She answered, not understanding his comment.

"You seem vexed. Is this because of me? You seemed so happy before, and now you're worried. Did I do something that hurt you? If so, I'm so sorry, my love, I never intended to…"

"Hey, sweetie, calm down." She soothed him, looking up to kiss his chin and try to erase his fears. She felt him relax beside her, and she could feel his heartbeats taking a slower pace as he was understanding that everything was okay. "You did nothing wrong. Why would you ever think that? You're amazing."

She felt him smile but it didn't reach his eyes, and she couldn't understand why he'd panicked all of the sudden. She only got it as he was pulling her closer to bury his face in her hair and breathe her in. Sometimes, in moments like these where he was tired or overwhelmed, his past would catch up with him. He would see himself as the pirate captain he'd once been, everything he'd done during this time coming back to him, and, for a little while, he wouldn't see himself as a good man anymore.

It broke her heart to see him that unsure of his goodness. He had the biggest, most wonderful heart she'd ever met, and she just wanted him to see himself the way she was seeing him, as the perfect man he really was. He'd made mistakes along the way, but so had she, and she just wanted him to stop feeling guilty for his troubled past. It was just what it was, the past, and it wasn't defining him. The way he was behaving with her and Henry, his endless love and support, was showing who he really was, an amazing person with the kindest of soul.

"I don't know. You just scared me." He said, pressing a kiss to her neck, and she answered in a very soft voice, making him shiver against her.

"I wish you would stop doubting yourself, Killian. You are the most amazing person I know. You won't hurt me, I know it. You're incredible and you need to stop feeling guilty for your past. It was a long time ago, okay? I've done things, too. We just need to move forward together. You have the most beautiful soul I've ever had the luck to meet. Please, don't ever doubt that."

"I just… I wouldn't bear the idea of hurting you. I thought I'd done something and it broke my heart."

His voice was muffled, almost fragile, and she snuggled a bit closer to him, tears appearing in her eyes at his words. They loved each other so much, and she really hoped that one day, his past would stop haunting him. He was caring, wonderful, the best father she could have wished for for Henry and the most amazing partner she could ever have imagined. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with him and still love him that much in a thousand years, because he was her world and she just wanted him to forgive himself.

"Killian, you didn't do anything wrong, you're supporting me in everything that I do and you never let me down. You know what I'm thinking right now? I'm thinking that I'm so glad to be spending my life with you. Not only because I'm so in love with you that I can't even describe it, but also because Henry considers you as his father, and I'm proud. I'm so proud that he can look up to such a wonderful man, and he loves you beyond words. Ask him, and he will tell you the same thing. He chose you as his father, babe, and there's a reason for it. Because he can see how perfect you are."

He stayed silent for a minute, as if fighting against the tears her words had made appear in his eyes. It's only after a while that he said again, his voice low and still holding her close to his chest. "I love you, my love. So much. You're perfect. All I want is for you and the lad to be happy."

"We are, thanks to you. You make us happy, just by being there. I'm happier than I've ever been. You're a good man, Killian, a wonderful one. And I love you, too. No matter what happens, it will never change."

He sighed and kissed her forehead, softly and so lovingly she felt like she was melting. His heart was still beating a bit too fast even though it'd calmed down a bit, and she placed her hand on his chest, as if to help slow it down. She pressed a little kiss to his skin then, and she swore to herself that she would do anything to protect him from knowing more pain. Nobody would never hurt him again, not while she was there.

"What did I ever do to deserve you?" He said then, and she smiled slightly.

"You've loved me since day one, you've raised Henry by my side, you're always there to support me no matter what, you're caring, smart, kind, amazing, loyal and so much more. Isn't that enough?"

"You forgot dashing." He answered then, allowing the conversation to take a more joyful turn again.

"Right." She chuckled. "Incredibly dashing"

"I've never been this happy in my very long life, my darling, and it's all thanks to you." He turned serious again. "I'd do anything to see you give these beautiful smiles of yours every single day."

"You're doing a great job at it." She smiled against his skin.

"I love you."

"I love you."

They grew quiet for another few seconds, and she thought about how closed off she'd once been, and how it was so easy to tell him those things now. It felt natural, familiar. Because she'd given him her heart, she'd shown him her bruises and her scars, and he hadn't run. He'd never let go, so it seemed so normal to tell him how much she loved him every time she could, now. He was her partner through everything, and she was appreciating every single day how lucky she'd been to find him.

And if he was scared to hurt her because he didn't think that he was a good man, she knew that it wouldn't be the case. She trusted him, with everything that she had. She was loved, and she wasn't afraid anymore, thanks to him. Thanks to everything that he was.

After a while, the prospect of the conversation she needed to have with him about the room back in the castle started to weigh on her mind again, and she knew that it was time. She had to talk to him about it before falling asleep, and her heart sank in her chest. She was afraid of hurting him, but they really needed to decide on what to do. And whatever happened next, he and Henry would always come first in her heart. She just hoped that he knew that.

"I still have to talk to you about something important, though." She finally said, and he probably guessed that it was important, because he answered with a smile.

"Would a bit of rum make things easier for you, my love?"

"Definitely, yeah." She said, managing a smile.

She let him pull away, almost reluctently, but he pressed a kiss to the top of her head before going and it was enough for her to let him go. She rolled to look at him put his pants and his prosthesis on, biting her lips when he turned his back to her, still bare chest, and she was able to watch every inch of his skin in the dim light of the candles enlightening the room. She stared at his strong shoulders, his muscular arms, and realized that she was still carrying his smell on her. It made her smile.

Despite the darkness, she was able to see the little marks her nails had left on his neck and back, and she smirked at this view. She liked the fact that their shared pleasure was now visible on his body, somehow. She looked at him as he was bending to take his flask out of his leather coat laying on the floor, and finally decided to move. She got out of bed, running a hand through her messy hair and wrapping the sheets around her naked body like a makeshift dress. It was pretty cold in the room and she should have got dressed, but she didn't want to part from the fabric carrying both of their smells on it.

He smiled as she was joining him, and they sat down next to each other at the table of the room. He handed her the flask and she took a sip of rum, wincing when the alcohol burned her throat, but marveling at the same time at how comforting the familiar feeling was. She gave him the rum back after a few seconds, and he drank too, as a comfortable silence was settling around them.

He knew that she needed time to find the right words to tell him what was going on, and he just waited patiently, not pushing her to do anything. She looked out the window, drawing the courage she was lacking to tell him these news and possibly hurt him from the immensity of the dark blue ocean. It was amazing how the sea was reminding her of his eyes, and it calmed her down. She took the flask one last time to drink out of it, then finally started.

"There is something we didn't think about when we decided that I should try for the job."

"What's that, Swan?" He'd grown serious and was staring at her, and she blinked, suddenly feeling so sad about what she was about to tell him.

"After getting the job, I had a conversation with the royal couple. They told me that..." She swallowed, taking a break and diving into his eyes, afraid that it was going to upset him. "They told me that I had to stay in the castle for the night, too. They have a room for me there."

His reaction was immediate, and her heart shattered. His features darkened with sadness, and she could feel his own fears inside of her. He was afraid that they wouldn't see each other anymore, that they wouldn't be a real family. He was thinking that, for a while, they perhaps wouldn't be able to share their lives together, to feel like they belonged and that they were where they were meant to be.

But it wouldn't be the case. She was going to find a solution, no matter what. She would never abandon her family, she loved them way too much and she would build a plan to stay with them. But the way he was now looking down, as if he were fighting against the tears, made her want to cry as well. So she took his hand and interlaced their fingers, and she cupped his cheek to be able to look at him. She met his blue eyes, and she knew what he needed to hear. She knew him by heart, after all.

In a very soft voice, she stated, just wanting to see this smile that she loved so much again. "Killian, babe, look at me. Don't be sad, okay? Please. We're going to find a solution. I know it seems impossible right now, but I won't ever leave you and Henry, never. I love you both more than anything in the entire world. And I love you definitely way more than I love this job. We're going to find something. And if we don't, well, I will refuse to accept this position as the assistant. It's not worth being away from the both of you."

"Don't say that." He interrupted her gently, looking a bit more like himself, but still horribly upset. "There is no way you're going to refuse this job, and I'm not talking about the money, this is not about that. I'm talking about how happy you looked when you told me that you had the job, and about the way your eyes light up when you talk about the couple. Two people finally saw how amazing you really are, and I won't stop you from taking this wonderful opportunity. You're going to show them that you're a thousand times even more incredible than they could ever imagine. I won't be the person who will prevent you from living this dream. The opposite, really. I want to be the one who's going to support you while you're living it. Because seeing you smile is all that matters."

She blinked but failed to hold back a tear that rolled down her cheek and left a trail of salt on her lips. She didn't know what to tell him, except repeat to his ear again and again that she loved him beyond words. He was amazing. What he'd told her was beautiful, and she knew that he would support her, no matter what.

But she was also sure that, despite her joy of having been chosen, she wasn't going to let him down. If she had to choose between her family and this job, her boys were winning every single time. And the statement he'd just given had made her fall in love with him all over again. Because he was the most wonderful human being she knew, and she wouldn't give up on him, never. It was always going to be Henry, Killian and her against the world, and she wanted him to know that.

So she moved to sit on his lap, and he wrapped both his arms around her to hold her close, as she was resting her forehead against his. They stayed silent for a few seconds, as she was losing herself into the blue of his eyes then, finally, she said. "Thank you so much, Killian. It's the same for me, you know? I will support you, no matter what. And that's why I won't accept this job if it means that we can't see each other anymore. Because my future isn't in this castle, it's here with you and Henry, and I will never give up on that."

He sighed against her lips, and she could feel him relax a little bit against her. She would fight for their family, and he was now sure of that. "We're going to find a solution, Swan." He finally answered. "We're going to make sure that you can work there, and still be with us as well."

"I know. I won't give up on you." She repeated again, and he held her even closer.

"Can't you tell Snow White that you can't sleep in the castle?"

"It's the obvious thing to do, but it won't work." She said, pulling a little bit away but still leaving her arms locked around his shoulders. "They told me that I had to stay there during the night, if the Princess ever needs me. I'm pretty obligated to accept. And refusing this room is only going to make me look suspicious. They don't know about you. Why would I stay in this farm I'm supposed to live in if I can sleep in a castle instead?"

"Aye, it doesn't make sense" He sighed.

"I've thought about refusing the job and asking them to choose another girl. You know, they've asked everyone today if they wanted a job at the castle as well. I could have told them that I couldn't take such a big responsibility and that I would rather accept a job as a cook or whatever they could offer me. But I'm scared that if I do that, they will fire me right away. I'm not reliable if I refuse this dream job I wanted in the first place."

"It's a big risk to take, indeed." He agreed, nodding. "We'll find something else, I'm sure of it. Do you have any day off in your schedule?"

"I'm not sure yet. I didn't have the time to really talk about all the details with them. All I wanted was to come back here to tell you and Henry everything." She said, what made him smile slightly, but it didn't seem as joyful as it should have been. "I guess it will depend on how much work there is to do. But as soon as I have a day off, I'll spend the day with you both. But I won't accept seeing you so little either." She continued. "I can try something, it's bold but it's worth it if it means that I can be with you."

"Aye?" He encouraged her, looking pretty intrigued by her statement.

"The Princess isn't here yet. She won't need me during the night. I can try to sneak out of the castle when everyone else is sleeping. I can come here and spend the night with you both and enjoy your presence a bit, and I can get back to my room before the couple wakes up."

"Emma, are you sure?" Killian got worried, his fingers playing with a strand of her hair. "You're going to be exhausted, darling..."

"If it's the only solution we can find so I can have a job and still be with you, it's more than worth it. You're worth it." She smiled softly, what made him press a kiss to her forehead again.

"I'm just scared that you'll exhaust yourself." He whispered against her skin.

"I'm sure that I'll be okay, Killian. I swear. Taking this job means that we can save a lot of money. It's only for a little while, you know? When we'll have enough gold, in a few months, and when we'll be sure that no one knows who we really are anymore, we can go. We can live our dream together. Wouldn't that be perfect?"

"It would, love." He said, but he was still looking a bit concerned, so she added.

"We'll be all right, babe. We've been through much worse. Nothing will come between us, I won't let this happen. Never. It's always going to be the three of us, and I will never let you down."

He smiled, for real this time, and she leaned to press a kiss to his lips, softly first, then a bit more passionately, wanting to prove to him that she wasn't lying. She would do anything to keep their family safe, and they would be okay eventually. She wasn't going to let anything ruin what they'd built. They would be happy, together. Always together.

Finally comforted, he kissed her again and again until they were breathless and, finally allowing the sleep to take over her, she rested her head against his shoulder. There, so close to him she could hear his hearts and both his arms wrapped around her waist in a loving gesture, she fell asleep with the new certitude that nothing could go wrong because their love could overcome anything.

* * *

Despite their eventful night, they woke up at dawn the next day. They knew that they had a lot to do before she had to leave for the castle, and they needed to start now so she wouldn't be late. She had to gather her things and, more importantly, she had to explain to Henry what was going to happen. It wasn't going to be easy, they had never been parted for more than a few hours for his entire life, and her heart shattered in her chest because she knew that she was going to break his joy that she was now working at the palace.

After she'd fallen asleep in his arms, Killian had carried her to their bed and she'd woken up against him, snuggled as close as she could possibly get to him, as if they were both refusing to let go. They stayed there for a little while before deciding to get up, the sadness thick in the air around them. They both knew that nothing would be the same for a while, and she was upset. But they were also aware that they had to do this, and that they would fight to stay together. Nothing could break them, they had to remember that.

Finally, they got out of bed and, in silence, they worked in team to gather her belongings scattered around the room. They didn't talk, but he pressed kisses to her forehead and hair every time he walked past her, as if he wanted to show her how much he loved her one last time before she had to go and everything changed.

She had tears in her eyes but forced herself to swallow them back. Despite her comforting words the day before, she knew that she was going to be away from her family for most of the time, now. And she wasn't even gone yet that she already missed them terribly.

After she'd placed one last dress into her bag, she turned to face Killian and he suddenly locked his arms around her, his face buried in her hair to breathe her in. She couldn't hold back the lonely tear that rolled down her cheek, and she sighed against him, holding him so tight she could sense his sadness in her bones. They were acting like they were saying goodbye, and even if they were refusing to say their feelings out loud because this opportunity to work at the castle was going to bring them to their dream one day, she hated that she had to go.

After pulling away, he kissed her lips, so sweetly that it made her want to sob, and they decided to go wake Henry up right away. It was still early, but she knew that they needed time to tell him about their new situation, and she wanted to spend as much time as she could with her two boys before being forced to go. She was still happy to have the job, truly, and she was so excited about the prospect of learning how to be the assistant, but on that moment, the sadness of leaving her family had taken all the place and she was feeling like she could drown in her own despair.

Their son woke up with a smile on his face. He was still looking like he was coming out of a dream from the news he'd learned the day before, and she hated the fact that she had to ruin that. She opened her mouth to start telling him everything in a gentle voice, but he was faster than her. He was perceptive, and he immediately noticed the bag laying at her feet. His smile disappeared and her heart broke in half as she was settling on the bed beside him.

"Are you going somewhere?" He asked, dread audible in his voice.

Emma shared a concerned glance with Killian. For a second, she didn't know what to do or say, she just didn't want to hurt her little boy. But she also knew that she didn't have a choice. She would have to leave soon, and he needed to understand why. So she did the only thing she could on that moment, she wrapped her arm around his shoulders and brought her close to her, dropping a kiss to the top of his head before saying in a soft, somewhat broken voice.

"There is something I haven't told you yesterday, kid. I didn't want to upset you while you were so happy, and I needed to discuss the situation with Killian first, but now you need to know."

"What's going on?" he asked, his tone shaky and his eyes searching for hers for reassurance.

She took a second before answering, not wanting him to notice that she was on the verge of tears. "When I got the job, the couple told me that they have a room there for me. They made it clear that I don't have a choice but to sleep in the castle."

His bottom lip started to quiver, and he blinked his tears away, saying in an almost accusing voice. "You're leaving us?"

"Henry, no!" She cried out, horrified by the fact that he could have thought about this possibility even for a second. "I'm never going to leave you! You're both my entire world, I love you more than anything in the entire universe, and I'm never going to abandon you, you hear me? I'll come back every day, it's a promise. It will probably be during the night, but at least we'll be together. I refuse to live without you both, you know that, right? Don't you think that I'm leaving you, please. I love you, kid. So much."

He seemed a bit reassured, but he still said in a muffled voice that made him look so much younger than he really was. "Do you really have to go?"

"We need this money, lad." Killian said, kneeling on the floor next to them. "But it's just for a little while, not forever."

"And I'll be able to tell you hundreds of stories about the royal couple, isn't that great?" Emma added, but her voice didn't sound as convincing as she would have wanted it to be.

"Can't we come with you, then?" Henry asked, refusing to give up that easily.

"I wish you could, kid. But you know that the King and the Queen don't know about you. If they learn they I've lied to them, I'll be fired right away. And we really need this job, to be able to live our dream all together someday, you know?"

Henry looked at her for a while after that. He was quite obviously fighting against the tears, and it's only a minute later that he started to talk again. "I know, I understand. I just don't want to live without my mom."

"You won't have to." She answered in a high-pitched voice, heartbroken by his statement. "I promise you this, Henry. I'll be back every single day. I'll do anything to be with you. I love you."

"I love you, too." He sighed, and he snuggled against her for a hug that lasted for a few long minutes.

He was holding her like he was leading a fight against his heart yelling that he didn't want her to go, and his mind telling him that they needed this job. And she embraced him back, whispering comforting words to his ear, like she'd done when he was younger and had had a nightmare, herself trying not to show him that she wanted to cry as well. He needed her to be strong, and she just wanted him to know that she wasn't leaving him. Never. No matter what, because he was her baby boy and nothing would ever change that.

They ended up moving so Killian could sit on the mattress with them, and they stayed on the bed until it was time for her to go, all wrapped in an unbreakable embrace to try and convince themselves that they would be okay. But her boyfriend ended up glancing at the window to show her that it was time, his eyes shinning with unshed tears, and she knew that she didn't have a choice anymore. So, without a word, she pulled away from Henry and she kept his hand in hers as they were stepping out of bed, Killian carrying the bag while they were climbing up the ladder to go on deck.

They decided together that it was best if they didn't accompany her this time. It would have been too difficult, to see her go in the middle of the forest, to say goodbye in an unknown place. They were at home on the Jolly Roger, and that was where she wanted to promise them that she would be back before they could even notice that she was gone. She just didn't want them to get hurt.

Standing on deck, she suddenly felt like she couldn't leave them there. Even if she knew that she would be back that night, no matter what plan she would end up finding to get out of the castle, this felt like goodbyes. Because everything was changing and they were all scared to lose this amazing bound that they were sharing. She just looked at them both, tears in her eyes and wanting to etch their faces into her memory, as if she were going away for a very long time.

She shook her head, trying to remember that she would only be gone for the day and that every night she would be back to the comfort of their home. But her heart was pounding so fast she could hear it thumping in her ears. She was torn apart by the excitement still there deep inside that she'd been chosen among all of these girls for the job, and the desire to stay there with Killian and Henry and never let them go.

But she didn't say a thing about what she was truly feeling. They both looked so defeated, as if they were losing her forever, and she had to show them that it wasn't the case, she needed to stay strong. So she just held her son against her heart for a very long time, as he was holding onto her as if he were silently asking her not to go.

When they parted, she rested her hands against Killian's shoulders and they looked at each other in silence for a minute before kissing, a soft, somewhat sad kiss that made her heart sink in her chest. She was trying hard not to start crying at the thought that for a while, she wouldn't see these wonderful people, her family, as much as she would have wanted to.

Finally she said in a whisper, scared that her voice would break if she was speaking any louder. "I'll see you both tonight."

"You will." Killian nodded, resting his forehead against hers like he was refusing to let go. "Be careful, aye?"

"You too."

"I love you."

"I love you both, too. More than anything."

And after one last kiss to the top of her son's head, she knew that it was time to go. They couldn't wait any longer because she couldn't be late, but more importantly because it would only be more painful. Her distress was weighing on her heart, almost stopping her from breathing normally, and she couldn't believe that she really had to do this, she really had to go without them.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to smile at them to show them that she was coming back, but she was quite sure that she gave the saddest smile she'd ever offered them. Her bag around her shoulders, she left the ship, then the harbor. She left home.

She waited to be sure that they couldn't see her anymore before finally letting her tears roll down her cheeks, and she sobbed quietly, walking through the forest and feeling so lost without them by her side.

* * *

Luckily, the long walk she took to get to the castle managed to make her feel a bit better. It was easier to convince herself that everything would be okay now that she wasn't seeing those she loved the most crying because of her. The gentle wind was calming her down, the clouds were slowly moving in the clear blue sky, and she looked up at the sun, knowing that when it would finally set she would be back where she truly belonged, with the people that meant the world to her. It wasn't the end of anything. It was a change, for sure, but she wasn't giving up on them. She would never leave them.

It was still early when she arrived at the palace, but she felt like the day had started an eternity ago. She stood before the gates for a moment, trying to process the fact that she was actually going to work there now, for real. She wasn't crying anymore, but she made sure that tears weren't staining her face before stepping into the gardens. Her employers couldn't notice that she'd been crying. She was supposed to be the happiest girl in the world to have gotten this job, and not be desperate because she was away from a family they knew nothing about.

The guards welcomed her warmly, probably knowing exactly what she was doing there, and she smiled back at them, putting her sadness aside now that she was arrived. For now, she had to do her best so the couple wouldn't regret choosing her over the other girls. So she walked into the hallway with her chin up, trying not to worry too much. The couple had picked her, and it was for a reason. She was going to do everything she could to be a good assistant. She needed this, to offer a real future to her little boy. Her family needed her there, and she wasn't going to let them down.

The Queen was already awaiting for her in the hallway. Emma stopped when she saw her, not really knowing how she was supposed to greet her, feeling suddenly awkward in this too huge place. Snow White's gentle gaze calmed her down a little, as always, but she quickly remembered the way the other candidates had reacted every time the couple had entered a room. She then hastily bowed, still feeling a bit uncomfortable but definitely more confident than she'd been the first time she'd done this.

She was also uncertain of how she should have called Snow White so, just to be sure, she whispered "your majesty" in such a low voice she wasn't sure she'd heard her. However, as she was looking down, the Queen unexpectedly grabbed her hand to make her stand back up, and she answered her questioning gaze with a gentle smile.

"You don't need to do that anymore, Leia. You're a part of our family now, all right? No need to bow anymore. And please, call me Snow. Your majesty really is too formal."

Emma was so surprised it took her a second to nod in agreement, and she smiled shyly, not really knowing what to say. She really hadn't expected this kind of greeting. She'd barely arrived that this woman was already treating her like she was a member of the family. She was making her feel so safe with her maternal behavior, and a shiver ran up her spine. A pleasant one, because even if it was odd, it was like she was knowing her forever, and it felt too good to try to analyze these feelings.

Snow White didn't give her the time to ask herself any more questions or to answer anything. She had probably guessed that Emma had no clue of what to do, or she was just being her usual talkative self, but she started to talk right away. She kept her hand in hers and gently encouraged her to start walking, as she was speaking enthusiastically, obviously genuinely happy to have her there.  _Her_. The lost little girl was being accepted in this castle, and it felt like she was in the middle of a dream.

"I'm going to show you to your room. I can't wait for you to finally see it! We'll visit the castle later, and you'll meet some of the other employees. David wanted to be here, but he's taking care of the other candidates who are now working here too, right now. He'll join us later."

They walked up a huge staircase, that was rising up to a place Emma couldn't see yet. She blinked, trying to proceed all these new information, and the only thing she managed to say was : "David?" She had no idea of who this David was, and it felt good to be able to hold onto a question she was sure she was allowed to ask.

"Oh, right!" The Queen giggled, stopping on a step to be able to look at Emma in the eyes. "Forgive me, Leia, I tend to forget about this. You have to know something now that you're working here, but you have to promise me you won't tell anyone about it. Nobody outside of this castle has to know."

"Okay. Sure." Emma answered, not sure that she was really all right with that. She didn't want to be keeping another secret, not again, not after all the lies she'd been forced to tell. But the Queen smiled and she understood that it wasn't a bad thing that she was hiding.

"Well, the King's real name isn't James, but David. Everyone knows this here, but it has to stay between us. I know." She added, noting Emma's expression. "That's surprising, and it's a long story. David wasn't a prince at first. He's replacing his twin brother, the real James, who died years ago. My husband's mother has given one of the twins to King George not long after their birth, to be able to solve a very bad situation. George wanted a son, and if it broke her heart to part from one of her babies, she also knew that he would live a good life at the castle. David had no idea that he had a brother, until James died and the King refused to let the people know that he'd lost his only son. He offered David money to take James' place and keep the secret. They look so alike, no one realized that David wasn't his brother, and even now, years after, only a few people know that the King isn't James. But you need to know his real name now that you are working here. It's only fair."

Emma frowned, realizing how huge this secret was, but also that they were hiding someone's true identity too, just like she was. She wasn't the only one who had secrets, and somehow, it made her feel a bit less guilty about her own lies. Because she suddenly felt like she deserved to be in this castle, despite changing her name and lying about her past. As David, she'd done so to survive, and she hadn't had a choice.

She was so surprised she didn't know what to say, and the only thing that came out of her mouth was "Oh, all right." Luckily, the Queen didn't seem to mind her silence, and she smiled again before starting to walk up the stairs, gesturing for her to follow.

A minute later, they finally stopped climbing, and Emma only realized then that this palace was probably a thousand times bigger than she'd thought in the first place. In front of her was spreading a huge corridor, paintings on the walls showing family portraits and important people, looking seriously at the visitors as if judging them. Amazing and beautiful tapestries were covering the ceiling and walls, and the floor was a deep red, their steps muffled by a carpet.

She suddenly felt so small in this too big, too quiet place. She was oddly afraid of doing something wrong, of making too much noise or of saying something she shouldn't have. Everything seemed so precious and yet so strong, it was worrying her a bit. But at the same time, she wasn't feeling like a stranger there. It was just a place she wasn't used to, but she'd stopped feeling like an impostor. Finally.

She was interrupted in her thoughts by a familiar voice ringing in her back, and she turned on her heels to see who was talking. She grinned back when she saw The Queen's assistant, Kate, standing there and brightly smiling at her. "Leia, hi! Welcome here! We're so happy to have you!"

And, not giving Emma the time to say anything back, she took her in her arms in a welcoming embrace that left her speechless for a second. She hadn't expected that to happen, and she needed an instant to hug her back, but when she did, she was still smiling. Everyone was actually treating her like a member of the family, and she wasn't used to this kind of treatment coming from people she didn't even know.

All her life, strangers had treated her like she was nothing, and now she was being hugged and respected and trusted with secrets, and it felt so good. She couldn't wait to tell Henry and Killian about all of this. She couldn't wait for them to know that people were actually being good to her after everything they'd been through.

She was feeling kind of dizzy, but in a good way. She stopped being scared of doing something bad, knowing that they weren't judging her every move to make sure that they'd really made the right choice, but were only respecting her and trying to make her feel comfortable. When she pulled away from her new friend, she said, feeling herself blushing a little bit, but it was out of happiness and not fear.

"Thank you so much. I'm so happy to be here as well, you have no idea."

"Probably not as much as we are." Kate answered kindly. "We can't wait to learn more about you. You'll be working with me for a while, so we'll have plenty of time for that. I'll be showing you everything that you need to know about this job, all right? I'm sure you'll be the perfect assistant for the Princess. I can already tell. She'll be lucky to have you"

Emma suddenly felt so moved she couldn't do anything but smile, afraid that her voice would break if she tried to say something. It made both the Queen and her assistant smile, and they started to walk again, looking so happy to be able to show her around. It definitely wasn't what she had expected by coming here, and she was glad, glad that she could work with such good people after being treated like dirt by Calvin for years.

They crossed that majestic corridor that was actually going to be a part of her home now, she thought. It felt so weird to think about this, but she had to get used to it, and it made her smile as the Queen was saying. "Your room is right next to the Princess', in case she would need you during the night. I hope you're going to like it, and the new dresses that we chose for you, too."

"New dresses?" Emma repeated, not sure that she'd understood correctly.

"Of course." The Queen answered as if it were perfectly natural. "We told you the job was coming with some advantages, didn't we? You look like you weren't expecting that." She noticed with amusement.

"I wasn't." Emma admitted with a little chuckle, still utterly surprised by everything she'd already learned while she was in this castle for barely a few minutes.

"Well, it's only right." Snow White said then. "We want you to feel at home here. You'll be with us all the time, and we will do everything for you to feel like you belong, because you do. We don't see our employees as if being any inferior to us. We work together, and I will never understand the way some nobles treat their people. Without all of you, we'd be unable to take care of such a big castle. Without your advice, we'd be lost. We have so much respect for you, and we truly hope that you know that."

Emma blinked, feeling deeply touched by this statement. She'd never been used to that while working at the tavern an eternity ago. She'd been treated like dirt, and now these people were actually seeing her as an equal. She hadn't expected to be chosen as the assistant in the first place, and now she was actually working for employers that were respecting her. She couldn't even believe her luck.

For her entire life, she'd seen rich people as a threat. They'd always looked at her like she was nothing more than an animal, and had seemed to love judging her as she was simply trying to survive. But this wasn't the case here, they were just good people, understanding that her past wasn't defining her, even if they didn't know her real story. She was feeling respected, and she was so surprised and moved that she felt like she could cry.

Snow White and Kate smiled at her reaction, and the Queen briefly wrapped her arm around her waist, in such a familiar gesture that her heart skipped a beat. She took a deep breath and imagined the way Killian and Henry would react when she would tell them everything that had happened that day. Her boyfriend was probably going to be so happy that she was treated so well, and Henry was going to be ecstatic at the idea that she was getting close to the royal couple that meant so much to him.

Suddenly and unexpectedly because she was still so happy about everything that had happened since she'd walked through the gates, she felt completely lost about what she was truly feeling. She was so glad to be there and to feel accepted, but at the same time, she was already missing her family. She wished they could have been there with her. She wished she hadn't lied to the couple and had told them that she had a son and a partner and couldn't be parted from them because they were the center of her world. She wished she could have had everything.

But she also knew that if she'd told the truth, she wouldn't have been standing there right now. They would never have given her the job if they'd known she had a family and couldn't be available for them at all time. She hadn't had a choice, but nothing was lost. She could still have everything. She just had to find a way to get back to Henry and Killian when she could, and she knew that she would be able to. She wasn't going to give up.

It's Kate's voice that got her out of her thoughts, and she only realized then that they'd stopped walking and were now standing in front of a huge wooden door. "And here is your room" Her new friend stated, and her heartbeats fastened at that.

She looked up, her breath stuck in her throat as the assistant was opening the door that was facing them. She didn't want this room, she just wanted to be with her family, but she was still excited to see what the couple had planned for her. She almost immediately felt her mouth gaping open at the sight in front of her, beyond surprised to see what was opening before her. Her eyes opened wide and her hand came to rest against her heart as, speechless, she wasn't sure that what she was seeing was real. She didn't know if she'd understood correctly and if she was actually standing in what was supposed to be her room.

"So? What do you think?" The Queen asked with a small smile.

Emma didn't answer right away. She was unable to. She was still staring at the room, feeling like she was almost floating out of her own body. She hadn't expected that. She had expected a little wooden bed and a wardrobe, not so much bigger than the place she'd once had in the tavern.

But this room was huge. And absolutely, utterly beautiful. The walls were painted in a light violet and the canopy bed was placed against the wall opposite to the door, curtains dropping from the top of it. Dark blue satin sheets were covering it, looking soft and warm and perfect to sleep in. A wardrobe, covered with engravings that she would have sworn were dusted with gold, was standing next to the bed, tall and majestic.

In a corner, a wooden chest and a rocking chair were placed, beside a desk and a set of drawers. A gorgeous fireplace was opening not so far from the bed, surrounded by two armchairs, also blue and looking wonderfully welcoming. When she turned, her eyes met a bathroom hiding behind an open door, opposite to the chimney.

This room, Emma thought, as she was still completely speechless, it was the room of a princess and it felt so surreal.

Realizing that the Queen was actually waiting for an answer, she forced herself to swallow and she stuttered, too surprised to be able to form a clear sentence. "It's… It's gorgeous."

"Really?" Snow White asked with a big smile, looking actually relieved that she was liking the place. Emma couldn't imagine that the opposite was possible when facing such a beautiful room. This place was amazing, and it was actually hers. She couldn't even think about how the Princess' room looked like if hers was already that way. "Come see your new dresses, then." Snow White continued, taking her hand again. "I hope you're going to like them too."

She led her to the huge wardrobe, and Emma briefly wondered how many dresses were hidden there given how big it was, before losing herself in the sight of the little stars and moon drawn on the ceiling. It reminded her of what she could see on the Jolly Roger when the sky was so clear in summer that they could fall asleep on deck. She only looked down from this comforting view when the Queen opened the wardrobe and, once again, she wasn't sure how to breathe anymore.

Dozens of dresses were aligned there in a beautiful mix of color, and she also spotted shoes, fur cloaks, satin beyond what her eyes could see. The little girl in her remembered how she'd once stared at the rich ladies walking past her in the streets, and how she'd dreamed about wearing these kind of dresses one day, hoping for a better life. She almost wanted to cry and the thought that she'd made it, that her dream was actually becoming true before her eyes after everything she'd been through.

She'd survived. And now she was treated like a princess by this woman that was not only her employer, but also the Queen of an entire kingdom. It felt so surreal and yet so true that she was feeling like her heartbeats could be heard into the entire room.

"Do you want to try on one?" Kate offered then, sharing a smile with the Queen at Emma's expression.

"If they're not the right size, we'll send them back to the tailors. But it looks like it will be okay from here." The Queen added kindly.

Emma still couldn't believe that it was really happening to her, that she was being offered to wear dresses that looked like they belonged to a princess. So she simply nodded and looked at the gowns before her, wondering which one she was going to try on. Her eyes met the fabric of a dark red dress, long and absolutely beautiful, and a small smile formed on her lips.

She absolutely loved that color, and if Killian had seen her wear that gown, he would probably have told her that she was the most gorgeous woman he'd ever had the luck to see. No, she corrected herself internally, he always told her those things no matter what she was wearing. And it would always make butterflies appear in the pit of her stomach, because she was so in love it felt like a dream sometimes.

These thoughts were happy ones for once, and it's while thinking about him that she picked the dress, noting it had a corset that had to be laced and that she had no idea of how to do that kind of things. Kate reassured her though, offering her help, and Emma quickly found herself wearing the beautiful gown, her new friend in her back showing her how to lace the corset up.

"You're going to have to do that with the Princess, soon." She said, and Emma realized how everyone in this castle was absolutely convinced that the Princess was alive, so much that she was almost starting to believe it herself.

A few minutes later, they were all done, and she waited a second before turning to look at her reflection in the mirror. As Snow White had said, the gown was fitting perfectly, but she had the feeling that when she would see herself, it would finally sink in that everything was actually changing in her life for a while. She watched the two other women sharing a glance, the Queen looking almost emotional to see her in the gown, and she finally took a deep breath and turned to discover what she looked like dressed like this.

She almost didn't recognize the woman facing her. She looked like a different person in this dress, but that wasn't it. The satin was caressing her skin, and a new confidence was shinning in her eyes as she was staring at herself. She looked like she belonged there in this beautiful room with this gorgeous dress on, and she couldn't help but spin around to look at the skirt falling around her legs. It seemed like she was going to a ball. And she couldn't believe how far she'd come, from the lost little girl to wearing a princess' clothes.

"Gods, Leia, you really are perfect for this job." The Queen whispered with her hand on her heart, what made Emma blink in surprise. She'd done nothing more than putting on a dress, but it seemed to be oddly touching the Queen as she was looking at her almost proudly. "I'm so glad that you're here with us, now. Tomorrow, we'll introduce you to the kingdom, all right?"

Emma suddenly felt horribly dizzy, and she almost had to grab the closest wall in order to stay on her feet. They were going to introduce her to their people, and the news made her feel sick. She wasn't sure she could do that. She hated being the center of attention, but that wasn't it. Some of the people here knew her as Leia, and knew that she had a boyfriend and a son. What if they told the Queen that she had a family, and that she'd lied? She would be fired, thrown in a cell, even. She would never see her family again.

Worse, what if someone there knew that she was actually Emma Swan, the thief, the murderer. She would be sentenced to stay in prison for the rest of her life. That couldn't happen, and her stomach was painful at the thought. She couldn't believe that in the span of a second, she'd gone from pure happiness to this awful dread. And she didn't know what to answer, because she couldn't tell them who she really was, she couldn't admit that she'd lied and that it was the reason why she was so afraid. The trap was closing around her and she didn't know what to do to get herself out of it.

"Don't be scared." Kate said in a comforting tone then, obviously noticing her reaction, and it finally made her come back to reality. "You won't have to do anything, except standing beside us. We'll be there the entire time. I know it's scary, I've been there too, but it's going to be all right, I promise."

"We just want to kingdom to know who you are, now that we've found you." Snow White added with a gentle smile. "It's important."

Emma forced herself to take a deep breath, and got the courage she was lacking into the depth of the Queen's green eyes. She had to stop being paranoid. Nobody was going to recognize her, the village where the harbor was and where the people knew her was too far away, and this city had been stuck in time for decades. Her face would remain blurry with the distance anyway, and if somebody did acknowledge her as someone who had a family and told the royal couple, who would believe this stranger? She was the new assistant, the couple would trust her over someone else they didn't even know. She was okay. She was safe. And things would stay that way.

"I just don't really like being the center of attention." She finally said shyly to explain her behavior.

"We'll do the talking." The Queen assured gently. "And you'll be perfect. I know it."

"Come on, now." Kate said, taking her hand in hers and Emma finally allowed herself to relax. "No need to worry about something that's only going to happen tomorrow, right? For now, we'd like to show you the Princess' room, and we'll introduce you to the other employees. Would you like that?"

She managed to nod once again, a bit confused by all these new things she was discovering and by the genuine affection these people already had toward her. They really wanted her to feel at home, and the Queen had looked so proud when she'd said that she wanted to introduce her to the kingdom, it managed to reassure her. If Snow White was feeling that way, it was for a reason, and everything was going to be all right from now on.

The Queen's smile didn't leave her as she was guiding Emma to the third door opening in the room. It was placed next to the fireplace, and she understood that it was leading directly to the room that was planned for the Princess if she came back – when she would come back, because if she believed it strong enough, maybe it would actually happen - in case she would need her during the night.

Emma realized that not so long ago, she was so convinced that the poor girl had died right after he birth, but that the couple's optimism had made her change her mind now and that she was truly believing that the Princess was going to come back soon. These people deserved to know true happiness, to be reunited with the person they loved the most. It would have been too unfair if she'd really been taken away from them forever. So she had to be alive, the contrary was impossible.

Once again, she forgot all about her thoughts when she entered the room to stare in awe at what was spreading before her eyes. The place was huge, beautiful beyond words. Naively, at the back of her mind, when she had thought about the Princess' room, she had imagined a nursery. In her head somehow, the Lost Princess was still a little girl, even though she knew that she was actually an adult now, probably because she'd heard about her since she was herself a child. And she'd pictured a crib and teddy bears and a rocking chair, waiting to know a happiness they'd never been able to find.

But it wasn't a nursery that was facing her. The room was ready to welcome the adult that the princess now was. A huge bed, certainly able to contain four people, a wardrobe still empty, probably because they didn't know what she looked like and couldn't guess her size, and a bathroom opposite to the entrance, twice the size of the room she'd shared with Henry back at the tavern. The couple had probably got this room ready right after they'd woken up from the curse, because it was making them feel close to their long lost daughter. And the love present in every single details was making Emma want to cry.

"I hope she'll feel at home, here, when she'll come back." The Queen whispered, a hint of sadness in her voice. She looked like she was talking more to herself than to the other two women beside her, but Emma felt the strange and huge need to reassure her, to make her smile again, because seeing her eyes shine with that much pain was unbearable.

"I'm sure that she will." She said then. "This room is beautiful. And with parents like you, she'll have everything that she needs. You love her, and that's enough. She'll be happy here. Truly happy."

This statement made the Queen smile again, and Emma felt an immediate sense of relief taking over her at the grin she was offering her. She seemed so touched by her words, and her eyes were still shinning, but it was with joy and emotion this time. Out of the blue, she then wrapped her arms around her for a hug, as if to thank her for her kind words, and Emma needed a second to hug her back, surprised by this unexpected gesture.

She wasn't feeling the least uncomfortable, though. She was already feeling included in this family, and she was happy to have made the Queen feel a bit better. Snow White whispered to her ear then, gently and so kindly Emma's heart fluttered. "Thank you, Leia. Gods, I'm so glad that we've found you. You really are perfect." Emma didn't know what to say, and Snow White didn't give her time to think for much longer. Pulling away, she said with one of her arm still wrapped around her. "Come on, let's go join David now. He's really excited about getting to know you better, as well. We'll introduce you to the other employees, too. We're like a big family, you know? It's important that you know everyone. We want you to feel good here."

"Thank you. I already do." She answered back, and the smile the Queen offered her again was worth everything.

Snow White and Kate guided her back downstairs, promising a complete tour a bit later in the afternoon, even though Emma was pretty sure that she would be unable to visit every room of this castle if she stayed there for a year. The King was waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs. He immediately wrapped his arms around her as a kind greeting, and she was surprised to see this man who'd seemed so intimidating to her at first be that affectionate now.

She hugged him back, noting that she should probably get used to these kind of things now that she was working there, since everybody seemed so close in this palace. She wasn't complaining about the hugs, though. She'd never had a real dad, Eric definitely hadn't been one for her, but she felt this embrace as a paternal gesture coming from the King. It felt safe, and she smiled as he was saying. "We're so glad that you're here, Leia. This is an honor to be able to welcome you in our team. We know you'll be amazing."

"Thank you" She just said while pulling away from him, and the smile he gave her made his blue eyes shine in such a bright way she couldn't help but grin back.

They brought her to some of the rooms downstairs, introducing her to the housekeepers, the gardeners, the dressmakers, the guards and everyone who crossed their path. They knew every single person by their name and everybody smiled back at her when she stated with honesty that it was a pleasure to meet all of them. She could see how happy all these people looked, and it wasn't hard to guess that they were treated wonderfully in this castle. The King and Queen obviously weren't like any other employers. They were treating everyone who worked for them as a member of their family, and she wished that everyone could have been like them. The world would definitely have been a better place.

They introduced her to Granny and Red, friends of the couple who greeted her with welcoming smiles that made Emma like them right away. They brought her to meet the Blue Fairy and some of their other friends too, who'd come to the castle especially to see her, and everything was so intense that she was feeling dizzy, but in a good way. Everything was a confusing mix of smiles and new faces, and when they finally led her to the kitchens, she was happy to see a familiar face among all of these strangers.

"Chiara?" She asked right away, so happy to find her friend back. The young woman was busy baking a cake and looked so focused in her task it made Emma smile.

She hadn't heard them coming in, too absorbed in what she was doing, and when she looked up and met her gaze, her face lit up completely. The couple and Kate watching them with tenderized grins, the two women shared a spontaneous hug that made them smile, happy to find each other in this huge palace where they both barely knew anyone.

Emma started to talk as she was pulling away again, her tone enthusiastic and her smile not leaving her. "I'm so happy that you're working here, now! So you've decided to become a cook, then?"

"I've always loved to cook. My mother taught me when I was a little girl, and it's a dream job for me to be here." She said, throwing a grateful glance at the couple, who just stared at her kindly.

"That's great! I'm happy for you." Emma stated, her hand still resting on Chiara's shoulder.

"Talking about cooking." The King said then, what made Emma turn to face him again. "We'll be eating soon. Usually, the employees all have schedules to eat in the common room, but you and Kate are a bit special, Leia. You are our advisers, and we want you to feel like a part of this family. So you share our table for every meal. This only changes for very special events, but you'll be eating with us from now on."

Emma found herself speechless, feeling sort of stunned by this statement. She was scared, suddenly, and she couldn't believe how fast she could go from an emotion to its opposite that day. First, she'd been sad to leave her family, then happy to feel like she belonged, worried about the presentation the next day and moved by the Queen's reaction to showing her the Princess' room. She suddenly felt like she was going insane. Everything felt almost too much, and she didn't know what to do anymore.

Because she was terrified about making a fool out of herself by eating in front of these people that she didn't know, facing this rich couple who had learned how to behave properly with other nobles since they were toddlers. She wasn't part of this world. Most of her life, she'd always devoured the food that was in front of her from fear it would disappear, because it seemed like such a rare, precious thing to her. These people couldn't understand that. And she was so scared of doing something inappropriate without meaning to.

She was feeling like an impostor, taking a place that wasn't hers. She was lying about everything, and she didn't feel like she deserved to eat with them, with these people who already trusted her as she was tricking them into thinking that she was someone she was not. She was almost shaking from her terror. And she had no idea of what to do next.

So she took some deep breaths, forcing herself to calm the hell down. She'd been comforted before by the revelation of the King also lying about his true identity to be able to survive, because that was only what she was doing right now. She was protecting her family. And she also had to remember that, in the stories she'd read so many times to Henry, Snow White had also been a thief, once upon a time. She knew what true hunger felt like. She wasn't that different from her, after all.

She just had to keep breathing and she would be okay.

No one gave her any more time to settle down, though. The only one who seemed to notice her true feelings was Chiara, who threw her a questioning glance, but she didn't have the time to answer and show her that she would be all right. The couple, their smiles never leaving them, led her to the dining room and the huge table standing there, and they gestured for her to sit down opposite to Kate. "Please, Leia, take a seat." She knew that she couldn't do anything else than listening to them, so she sat down, stiff and her heart thumping in her ears, wondering what the hell she was supposed to do.

She was so nervous she only had a vague knowledge of the fact that the couple and Kate were sharing a happy conversation she couldn't take part in. Everything seemed foggy, and her leg was bouncing up and down underneath the table. She wasn't hungry at all. She was just so tensed about this mere thing that was eating with them, and she wasn't sure that she could do it. Gods, she so wished that Killian and Henry could have been there with her. They would have made her feel better in the span of a second.

She was trying to imagine how their voices would sound right now, telling her that she could do anything and that she was amazing and that this meal wasn't important and nothing bad could happen,. It made her feel a bit better. She suddenly thought about the fact that she was supposed to do this every day, now, and she wasn't sure how to. And how would she be able to actually introduce herself to the kingdom the next day if she was feeling so nervous about simply eating with these people? She didn't know what to say. So she just tried to focus on the present and answered absently to the regular questions her employers were asking her, trying to calm her heart painfully hammering against her ribs.

_It's just a meal. Calm down. Breathe. You're not going to ruin anything_ , she tried to reassure herself.

When the cooks arrived to serve the food, though, her nervousness disappeared for a wonderful second to leave the place to pure awe. No less than ten different plates were laying in front of her on the table, some containing food she hadn't even seen before. It seemed delicious and amazing and mostly, so strange for her. She'd never been used to food being handed to her so easily.

She'd starved in the streets and she'd worked her life away for years to be able to eat, she'd had to steal to survive, and it seemed surreal that she could now have that much food just like that, without doing anything special or fighting for her life. She couldn't believe it, it felt like a dream to be treated like a princess that way. She'd dreamed of a moment like this one so many times, when she was a little girl, freezing on the ground at night.

She was still speechless as the couple and Kate were filling their plates, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. She blinked, noticing they didn't even seem surprised to have this amount of food laying in front of them. She mentally promised herself that, whatever turn her life would end up taking, she would never forget to be grateful. It was too good to take it for granted.

It's the King who broke her out of her thoughts, noticing that she wasn't moving. "Are you all right, Leia? You can take whatever you want, you know that, right?"

She didn't say anything for a brief second, not sure if it was rude to say that she wasn't feeling like eating, but also certain that she wouldn't be able to ingest anything anyway. Despite what it meant for her to see that much food on this table, she was still feeling a bit sick and her stomach was in knots. "I'm not sure that I'm hungry, right now. Is that all right?" She said, worried.

"It's not all right at all!" Snow White answered, and Emma tilted her head as she was looking at her, surprised to notice that despite her disapproving tone, she actually seemed more concerned than angry. "Honey, you need to eat. You have to stay healthy. I won't accept you starving in this castle and getting sick. Understood?"

These maternal and protective words left her speechless for a moment. The last time a woman had talked to her that way, it was Judy when she didn't want to finish her vegetables back when she was just a little kid. She was so young when she'd died, but she could still remember the tone of her voice so clearly when she would refuse for her to get up from her chair unless her plate was empty, her long red hair falling in her back like a warm flame of comfort. This thought made her sad, somehow. Despite the years, she still missed her.

So her hand searched for the ring Killian had given her, and she squeezed it between her fingers to soothe herself. She was still wearing the necklace he'd offered her for her birthday as well, but the couple had never asked her anything about them. She was happy to see that they were respecting her privacy. She wasn't sure she would have been able to lie more to these wonderful people, not after everything they'd already done for her.

She still wasn't hungry, though, and she didn't feel like she could force herself, so she smiled shyly and answered. "I know, thank you. But I'm fine. I guess I'm just a bit nervous." She admitted sincerely.

"Well, in that case, we'll get a basket of food ready for you after dinner." The Queen decided seriously. "There is enough for everyone, and that way, you'll be able to eat whenever you want."

Emma immediately saw the opportunity opening for her there, and her mind started to work at a crazy speed to figure out a way to grab that chance. This basket could be her life savior. When she would find a way to come back to Killian and Henry for the night – and she wouldn't allow herself to sleep before she had – she could bring the basket with her to the Jolly Roger. They could all eat without spending any money, and it would only give them the occasion to get out there sooner and live their dream.

But there was a fault in her plan, though. The couple wouldn't give her enough food to feed three people without wondering why the hell it was disappearing so fast. It was obvious that she couldn't eat all of that by herself, and the King and Queen would surely start to suspect that something was going on when they would see that she was taking so much food with her in her room.

But she could get past that, she decided, still thinking about her new situation. Maybe she could find something. Perhaps she could tell her employers that she wasn't eating much and not at a regular pace, and they would actually insist on her taking food with her every night. She just had to convince them that she wouldn't eat much at this table during meals. And she could bring food back to Henry and Killian, they could share it together and be able to leave this place sooner than later. That was all that she wanted, despite being so happy to be in this castle now, she just wanted to live her dream with the people that she loved the most.

"Thank you, it would help a lot." Emma then said with a chuckle. "I don't eat much, and I don't have regular schedules for my meals, I just eat when I'm hungry. I'm sorry if it's a bother..."

"It's not!" The King said immediately. "You can take whatever you want with you, the cooks will gladly help you, and you can come to the kitchens whenever you're hungry. It's not a problem at all."

"We just want you to be okay." The Queen agreed seriously.

For a wonderful second, Emma couldn't believe her chance. A new hope was arising in her heart on this moment she'd dreaded so much. She had a good wage, a wonderful one, and now that she could bring complete meals to her family every day, they wouldn't have to use most of that gold and could save to travel the world one day. Her boys would be so happy, and even though she knew that it would probably be exhausting to ignore her hunger so the couple couldn't suspect that something was going on, it was also so worth it for her family and their future.

She smiled at Snow White, feeling so much more confident now. She didn't eat anything then, she was too excited to do so anyway, and when the Queen asked her what she wanted to take back with her to her room, she thought about what Killian and Henry liked before answering. She finally chose a bit of stew, bread and cake, and the couple nodded in agreement, promising her that the basket would be waiting for her on the table of her room for when she wanted it

Her lucky star really had found her, apparently. She loved this job, but with that amount of gold, they would be able to leave in a few months since they could now save a lot of money. They could finally go away with their ship and live their life on the ocean. That prospect was wonderful and she was so damn happy her smile seemed like etched on her lips now.

The day continued, and her joy didn't fade away. The afternoon wasn't that different from what the morning had been. The couple kept on introducing her to the people working in the palace and to some of their friends, and everyone welcomed her with bright and genuine smiles. Kate and the Queen, now accompanied by the King – she would have to get used to calling them by their names now, but she was going through a big change already and doing so would probably have been too much that day – took her outside to visit the huge gardens surrounding the property. She walked through the mazes of trees and flowers, birds chirping above her head, and the last bit of her nervousness faded away. Everything was good. And it would keep on being that way.

The day ended with another dinner, during which she didn't eat either despite her stomach rumbling angrily. But she told herself that she would be able to share her meal with her family soon enough and it calmed her down. She managed to gather a few more things for Henry and Killian, and the royal couple led her back to her room after they'd left the table, big, happy grins on their faces.

"We think that it's better if we all get to bed early today, Leia. It was a big day for everyone, right?" The King said with a chuckle. "You need to rest. Tomorrow, you'll start your training with Kate and she'll teach you everything that you need to know."

"Thank you." Emma whispered, feeling suddenly so moved to be standing in front of these amazing people. "For everything. I'm so glad to be here."

"We are, too." The Queen answered, tears of emotion shining in her eyes. "Good night, honey. We'll see you tomorrow." She briefly wrapped her arms around her and Emma hugged her back, as the King was placing his hand on her shoulder with a smile, looking almost grateful to have her here with them.

She entered her room then, and closed the door behind her back, not even bothering to sit down on her new bed that was yet looking so comfortable. The basket was placed on her night table, and she noticed that it really was containing enough food for her family. It made her heart grow about twice its size in her chest. Everything actually was falling into place.

She took a deep breath, placing the handle of the basket in the crook of her elbow. She was feeling almost guilty to betray the trust of these people who were so incredible with her. Almost, because she couldn't wait to go see her boys, and nothing could have stopped her from going to join them. Her chin up and a smile on her face, she realized it was more than time to go back to where she really belonged.

_I'm coming_ , she thought, hoping that, somehow, they could heard her.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I couldn't wait to write this chapter, so I totally wrote it while I was on vacation haha. Anyway, I hope you'll like it! :)

The basket still firmly stuck in the crook of her elbow, Emma first tried the obvious. It was not like she had a lot of ideas crossing her mind right now and she just hoped that she wouldn't have to walk the length of the castle in search of a way to sneak out, first because she didn't really know the palace that well yet, and second because she was scared to get caught. But if it had to come to that so she could join her boys, then it was worth it. For them, everything was.

Taking a deep breath and praying for it to work, she then walked to the window of her room. It would definitely have been the best way for her to sneak out without being seen by anyone, and to discreetly come back before the sun was up. She already knew she wouldn't go out using one of the main entrances, it would have been way too dangerous and she would have got busted right away, which wasn't a possibility. If that happened, the couple would think that she was trying to steal something, and she would be fired, if not thrown in a cell. But nothing would go wrong, because she was going to find another way, a good one no matter how much time it would take her.

It wasn't that late yet, and the sun was still enlightening her surroundings, but the night would take its rightful place soon enough. She still had time to spend the evening with her family though, and she wasn't going to let that opportunity slip away just because she couldn't think of a good way to go out right now. She already knew she would have to leave the Jolly Roger before the sun was up the next morning so her new employers wouldn't suspect her of anything, and she just wanted to spend as much time as she could with the two people who meant the most to her. To hell with sleep, they were winning every time.

It's while thinking about them that she leaned to look out her window, but she felt the disappointment taking over her excitement right away. There was nothing but emptiness beneath her. She was on the second floor, and even though the grass outside didn't seem that far away, there was no way she could jump from where she was standing without making any noise or hurting herself. That wasn't a possibility either. She wouldn't get far while being hurt.

Biting her lower lip, she desperately searched for a tree or a plant, or anything she could have used to get down more easily, but she found nothing else than the stone wall of the castle and she wasn't a good enough climber to try that solution. She stepped away from the window and sighed deeply, trying to convince herself that this failed attempt wasn't necessarily a bad sign. The palace was big, surrounded by trees that she could use to get down there, and she was going to find a discreet way out sooner or later. Sooner than later, hopefully.

Her leg was bouncing up and down as she was impatiently trying to think about what to do next when an idea finally crossed her mind. She thought about it for a minute, then realized that it was worth a try and, still holding the basket against her, she quietly walked to the door that was directly leading to the princess' bedroom. Maybe her solution was awaiting for her there. The room was big and she could surely find something, she was going to. She just had to believe it strong enough for it to actually happen.

She was aware of how dangerous it was to go in there, though. This wasn't any room she was going to enter. If someone found her there, she could get in big trouble, because she wasn't supposed to be there while the Princess wasn't. The couple would get suspicious of her if they saw her standing where she shouldn't have, and she would lose their trust. But at the same time, she had to try. It was the obvious, the room that was the closest to hers, and if she was discreet enough, everything would be okay. Probably.

Before leaving her room, she still took a minute to place a few pillows underneath the sheets of the bed, roughly mimicking the figure of someone sleeping in there. She looked at the result, hoping that it wasn't too obvious that it was a trick. But she had to do this, in case someone would for some reasons come in during the night. If they saw the bed still made and no one under the blankets, then she would be doomed.

It's only when she was convinced that, in the dark, no one would notice she wasn't there that she finally blew the candles placed around her bed and approached the wooden door leading to the Princess' room. She took a deep breath, praying that no one was there to catch her sneaking out, then finally quietly opened the door to try the next part of her plan.

The room was dark, only enlightened by the dim light of the sunset. Her breath grew faster as she was looking all around her, scared of getting caught, expecting someone to jump on her any second to take her to a cell. But nothing happened. And she needed one more moment to realize that she was actually safe and that she could go in.

In a hurry, she tried not to pay attention to the beauty of the place surrounding her, despite her desire to stare at the gorgeous furniture for hours. She directly walked to the window, and after one last glance around to really make sure that no one was there, a moment spent at listening to be certain that everything really was silent in the corridor behind the door, and a quiet prayer for all of this to work, she finally looked out the window again.

It took her a second to find what she was looking for, but when she realized that what she was seeing was real, her heart started to pound faster in her chest and she couldn't hold back the wide smile that spread on her lips. An oak tree was standing there, strong and tall and massive, so close and yet sill so far away from her. But a rebel branch had deviated from the obvious way to take, and was going down to land right beside the window, as if waiting for someone to use it. It was there, her way out, and she just had to reach to grab it. Climbing up the big tree to come back there in the morning was going to be child's play. And it would be even easier to use it to get on the ground right now.

She finally realized that she'd found her solution, and for a wonderful instant, she couldn't believe her luck.

She didn't wait another second. She was too scared of getting busted, but mostly, she was too eager to finally go find her family. She gently opened the window so it wouldn't make any noise, and without any difficulty, she grabbed the branch and made her way out there.

Her long dress was bothering her a little bit, especially because she had to make sure that she wasn't going to damage it so no one at the castle would wonder what the hell had happened to the gown. She could have changed, she realized now, but she hadn't had the time to do so, and she hadn't wanted to. She really wanted to see Killian's face when he would see her dressed like that, and she just couldn't wait to hug him and Henry and never let them go.

The only problem there was that she had to leave the window open to be able to go back inside the next morning. If she got stuck outside, it would be over for her and she couldn't make a mistake. But if she needed to keep it open, her trick also had to be discreet. If someone walked into that room at night, they couldn't notice that the window wasn't closed, or everything would fall apart.

Luckily, she quickly found a way to solve her problem. During the day, she'd used clips in her hair to bring her blond locks back and feel more comfortable, and it could truly be useful now. She took one of them off and placed it against the corner of the window, before closing it back and admiring her work. She smiled, more than happy with herself on that moment. The window was easily openable now, but the fact that it was wasn't visible to the naked eye. She could come back safely, and no one would know. She really was going to be able to see her boys, and she was so happy she felt her heart swell in her chest.

It's confident that she climbed down the tree and landed in the grass at its roots. She was out of the gardens, up there on the hilltop, and she could see the entire city spreading at her feet. She was still inside the property, but she realized that the gates surrounding the palace weren't existing where she was standing now, opposite to the main gates, probably because it was a pretty steep slope to get in town. No one thought that someone would risk coming up there, without any way to get in the castle afterwards. Thanks to that, she just had to walk down the hill and she would be in the city, safe and sound. Everything was perfect.

She was more than ready to go meet her boys.

She walked quickly to get there. She couldn't wait to go hug her family, and seeing the sun setting and the sky getting darker was motivating her to go faster. She wanted to have as much time as she could with them, make the most of the little time they had together.

Walking alone in the middle of the woods had never bothered her, despite the dangers lurking around every corner. She'd been used to crossing the forest by herself for years, first when she was a child all alone in the world, then when she was working at the tavern. The quiet of the woods was actually relaxing her, and she was convinced that things would be okay now that she had a way to get to Henry and Killian. She just had to keep things the way they were for a little while, and then they could finally reach the bright future awaiting for them out there.

It's serene that she reached the harbor, her home. She immediately noticed Killian's figure, leaning against the handrail of the ship, looking in her direction. He was waiting for her, despite the late hour, and she smiled because seeing him was making her so happy she couldn't even describe it properly. She could almost guess the smirk that most probably appeared on his face as she was walking toward him. So she started to run to get to him because she just couldn't wait anymore.

She was in his arms before she could even realize it.

He held her close to his heart, so tight that he lifted her up from the ground. It made her chuckle and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, burying her face in the crook of his neck. There, she let his scent, his touch, everything that was making him the wonderful man that he was invade her entirely, and she swore that her heart was going to burst. She was with him, finally, she was home. Their hearts were beating in unison in their chests. They were holding onto each other as if they had been parted for years. Because they were so in love that even a short separation was killing them from the inside.

They stayed like this for a long while, wrapped around each other, as they were refusing to let go. Everything was quiet around them and the world disappeared to only leave them and the ocean, his arms around her and his breath on her skin as he was kissing her neck. They stayed silent for another little while, the moment too intense to put words on it, then he finally started to talk, in such a low, loving voice that a shiver ran up her spine.

"Bloody hell, I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too." She just answered, because she wasn't sure any words could describe how happy she was to be in his arms again.

It was another second before he placed her back on the ground. He looked into her eyes, his left arm around her waist, his right hand cupping her cheek, as if he wanted to make sure that she was alright. He was staring at her like she was an angel coming from heaven, and her heart skipped a beat again at how damn lucky she was to have found him.

It's only a few seconds later that he noticed her outfit. He looked at her and licked his lower lip, obviously liking her gown very much. She blushed and chuckled, because even if she knew that he was going to react that way, it was still making butterflies appear in the pit of her stomach. He raised an eyebrow and took her hand then, making her spin so he could see her more easily. She giggled again, her laugh echoing in the dark sky, and he kept her hand in his when she faced him again.

"Gods, Swan. You look gorgeous."

"I knew you would like it." She smiled. "I have an entire new wardrobe, it's insane. And I brought dinner too. How is Henry doing?"

"He's missed you terribly. But he's sleeping now." She tried to keep her eyes from filling in with tears at these words. She knew she should have expected this to happen, but she just wanted to see her little boy. "Don't fret, my love." Killian added when he saw her reaction. "He made me promise to wake him up so he could see you."

"Good." She said, relieved that even if it was for a brief moment, she could spend a bit of time with her son.

He stayed silent for another minute before answering, still staring at her, and she understood that he needed this moment to feel her close after spending the day apart. Finally, he approached her, so close that his lips were almost brushing against hers, and he whispered so lovingly she swore she melted on the spot.

"Now that you're here, I'm finally complete."

And without giving her the time to answer, he kissed her. It was tender and sweet, but also somewhat desperate. He was holding onto her like he was scared that she was going to disappear again before he could do anything. She was grabbing his coat to try and keep him as close as she could while she was able to, feeling deeply and oddly moved all of the sudden. They kissed and kissed until they couldn't breathe anymore, and even then, they continued because they were each other's oxygen and breathing wasn't worth parting from one another.

After a while, a minute or a year, she couldn't tell anymore, they stopped. He rested his forehead against hers and they breathed the same air for a while, until he finally said in a low voice, looking straight into her eyes "Come, now. Let's go see the lad and you can tell us all about your day."

She nodded and he kept her hand in his as they were walking to their son's room. He was stroking her skin with his thumb, gently, and she guessed that it was because he wanted to feel like she was still there, like everything was still the same despite all the changes going on in their lives. It'd only been a day, but she'd missed him and her son so much her heart was actually aching.

She'd been used to working away from them for years before that, but it'd felt different. Because she knew back then that they were near and that they could have lunch and spend time together even when she was working. They hadn't seemed so far away. Now they almost felt out of reach. She had to hide their existence from her new employers, and if she knew that they'd made the right choice or she wouldn't have had that job, it was breaking her heart. She had to live away from them, while all she wanted was to have them by her side, always.

She was finding it so unfair, if she was being honest. Because she was missing them, and she just wished that they could have come with her to the castle. She'd only worked there for a few hours, but she could already tell that she was going to love her job. And she was so angry that she couldn't combine these two parts of her life, because if she'd had everything, her happiness would have been complete. But she also knew that she couldn't do anything but go through these few months, before she finally could live with them for the rest of eternity. And it was enough to keep her going.

Killian must have guessed her feelings, because he looked at her and she just smiled as a quiet answer. For now, she was there and she could enjoy her family. Wallowing in the turn her life had taken and the fact that she had to stay away from them was useless. They were here now and she wasn't going to waste any second of the short time they had together.

They walked into their son's room, and she smiled when she saw Henry, wrapped in his blankets and sleeping peacefully. She pulled away from Killian, placed the basket of food on the table of the room, then sat down on the edge of her little boy's bed. Gently in order not to startle him, she ran her hand through his dark locks, trying to wake him up as gently as she could.

She watched him as he was blinking a few times, trying to make sense of what was happening, before he realized that she was finally there. He sat down right away then, and he wrapped his arms around her, a huge smile already spreading on his sleepy face.

"Mom! I'm so happy that you're finally back! I've missed you!"

"I've missed you too, kid." She chuckled, as always amazed by this unbreakable, wonderful bound that they were sharing.

Still not letting go of her, he looked at her and asked, his eyes shinning with curiosity. "So? How was your first day?"

"I'm gonna tell you everything." She promised. "But first, are you guys hungry? I brought some food with me. You'll probably have enough for tomorrow too with what I have here."

"Really?" Killian asked, walking to go see what was inside the basket as she was still holding Henry close to her. "How did you get that much food without admitting that it was for us?" He added when he noticed how much supplies it was actually containing.

"Let's say that I have my way." She just answered, raising an eyebrow at him. He looked like he wasn't convinced by her vague answer, but she made it silently clear that she wasn't going to tell him any more about it, not right now anyway, and he just chuckled without insisting. He knew that she wasn't going to surrender, and he would never force her to do something she didn't want to, because the respect her had for her was endless.

She didn't want to talk about how she'd lied to the couple about her eating habits, and she surely didn't want to admit that she hadn't eaten anything since she'd left the Jolly Roger that morning. Killian would probably have lost his mind, and he would have been too worried to understand that she needed to do this, so they could save more money, and that she couldn't eat in front of the couple now that she'd asked for the basket, or they would understand that she wasn't telling them the entire truth.

This lie meant that they could get sooner out there, just them and the ocean and the happiness of living their dream, and she was refusing to be the only obstacle standing in their way. She would be okay, she knew she would, but Killian would have been too concerned to understand that if she'd told him everything. He would only have seen the dangers and not all the good her decision was bringing. So she didn't tell him anything and he accepted that. And she promised herself that whatever happened, she would be okay, for him and for her son.

Still smiling, Killian took the piece of cake she'd managed to get from the castle and placed it in a plate, coming to sit next to Henry and her on the bed. They made room for him and their son settled between his parents, his smile never leaving him as he was so happy to have his family back together again.

Her stomach was rumbling loudly at the sight of the food laying in front of her, and when Killian presented her with one third of the cake, she had to hold herself back from swallowing it whole. It definitely didn't feel like enough since she'd barely eaten anything since she'd woken up, but she didn't want to get more food now, or her boyfriend would guess that she was hiding something from him. He was the most perceptive person she'd ever met, after all. She told herself that she could get what she needed later that night, deciding that she just wanted to spend time with her boys for now, and when they asked her to tell them about her day, she did so gladly.

She settled against the wall, cross-legged and one arm still wrapped around Henry's shoulders. She started to talk then, telling them about the couple's kindness, about Kate and Chiara and all the new people she'd met at the palace. She gave them a full description of her room and her new wardrobe, and talked about the Princess' as they were listening to her intently.

All while talking to them, she suddenly felt like she was telling the tale of a dream she'd once had. A little orphan, a former beggar, working in a castle and being treated so wonderfully. It felt like it was coming right out of one of the fairy tales Henry loved so much. And at the way they were staring at her, she guessed that they were as moved as she was by the story of this day where her life had taken such an unexpected twist.

"Well, you look like a princess in that dress." Henry said when she stopped talking, his eyes shining with all the images born in his head at the tale his mom had just told.

"Thanks, kid." She smiled. "I felt like one, today, in this big castle. That was insane."

"You deserve this, Swan." Killian said, looking so touched by the story of how far she'd come and knowing how much this meant to her. "More than anyone."

"I wish that you could both be there with me. I can't stop thinking about you during the day." She admitted with a somewhat sad smile.

"It's hard, but we'll get through this" Killian nodded, as if he wanted to tell her that she didn't have to feel guilty for anything. However, is eyes shining with deep sadness made her heart sink in her chest. "It's for a good cause, right?"

"Right." Henry agreed seriously. "As long as you come back here every night and tell us everything, we'll be alright."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." Emma laughed, dropping a kiss to Henry's head. "And I'm going to have a big story for you when I come back tomorrow." She added, wincing a bit at the prospect of what was going to happen the next day.

"What's that?" Her son asked, curious.

"Well, if they haven't changed their mind, the King and the Queen want to introduce me to the kingdom." She explained, feeling the nervousness taking over her again as she was saying those words. "I'm not sure I'm really okay with that." She admitted with a chuckle then.

"You'll be perfect, darling." Killian reassured her, so gently that she believed him for a second. "Everything is going to be all right, and the citizens are going to love you. I know it."

"Well, I'm not worried only because I hate being the center of attention. It's not like I'll have to talk much anyway, they just want their people to know my face. And that's the problem, actually. People know us here. I'm scared that someone is going to recognize me, while they know that I have a family. If they tell the royal couple what they know and they learn that I've lied… I'm gonna get in big trouble."

"Nothing bad is going to happen, Swan." Killian comforted her, and Henry nodded to show his approval. "I know everything is going to be just fine. If someone asks us about why you're working there now, I'll tell them that the couple knows about us. And even if someone told the King and the Queen that we exist, they have no proof. Why would they believe a perfect stranger and not you, who's working for them and who's doing a great job? We'll be okay. And you'll be perfect, as always."

It managed to reassure her completely, and she felt her entire body relaxing at his words. She smiled, noting that the worry that had weighed on her chest for the entire day had simply disappeared, thanks to him and his endless support. Because if he was saying this, it had to be true. She trusted him more than anyone in the world, and she knew that everything would be all right if he was convinced that it would.

They stayed in the same position for a little while after that, just hugging each other and talking like they'd been separated for weeks and not just for one day. It had felt like an eternity to her, despite how much she liked this job, and having them in her arms again was making her so damn happy. Henry ended up falling asleep again after a couple of hours, not used to staying up that late. They tucked him into bed, carefully so he wouldn't wake up, and she watched him sleep for a few seconds, her heart feeling so full from the love she had for her little boy.

It's then that she realized, surprised, that they hadn't read him a bedtime story. He was getting a bit old for that, but they liked these moments so much and Killian always had wonderful tales to tell. But as she finally made sense of what had happened that night, her heart started to pound faster. She was the one who had talked. She was the fairy tale, now. She was living a dream by working in this castle, and he wanted to hear all about it. She so wished she could have included him there, so he would have lived this too. But she also knew that it wasn't possible, so she chose not to think about that anymore because it was making her sad, and she dropped one last kiss to his forehead before pulling away.

She turned to Killian, who was looking at the both of them with so much love in his eyes her heart stuttered. He really was the most amazing partner, and the most perfect dad for Henry. He smiled softly and took her hand, and he gently led her out of the room. She knew what they were going to do, and she realized what having sex with the man she loved truly meant, now that they were separated for most of the day.

It was feeling almost more intense that it had before, because it was bearing a new urgency, a fear of the little time they had passing too fast. They weren't together as much as they would have wanted to. And making love was giving them the feeling that nothing had changed, it was offering them the opportunity to become one and to be close to each other, and that was what they needed more than anything on that moment.

Killian started to kiss her before they even reached the captain's quarters. She immediately kissed him back, her hands in is neck, trying to bring him as close as she possibly could. It was almost violent, painful, desperate, as they were trying to become one in their desire to stay close, despite the distance initiated between them during the day. Because at night, they could be together again and they were going to make the most of it.

She opened her mouth to let him in, and he grabbed her waist so hastily their bodies collided. They didn't care. He tasted like chocolate from the cake he'd eaten, the sweet feeling on her tongue making her shiver. His hand was everywhere, and he lifted her up from the ground to get her even closer, as she was wrapping her legs around him for balance.

He carried her to their room, miraculously managing not to fall over in the process. They only parted when he laid her down on the bed, and he stopped everything for a second to look at her like she was the only woman in the world. It made her heart pound even faster, and she grabbed his coat to bring her closer to her.

He gave in, leaning over her, dropping a kiss to her neck as his hand was finding its way underneath her dress, bringing the skirt up to her waist. His breath felt warm against her skin as he was saying. "As much as I love this gown, Swan, I find you even more beautiful without it."

"Take it off, then." She panted, her eyes closed and her back arched to glue her stomach to his.

He didn't need to be asked twice. She guessed that he would have wanted to tear the dress without caring about the consequences, but he also knew that he couldn't leave any trace of their moment together, so he took the time to gently take her corset off and he stared at her in awe when she found herself naked before him. She blinked as he was looking at her like he was seeing her for the first time, and she tugged at his collar, saying in a raspy voice. "You're wearing way too many clothes, captain."

"We're going to change that right away, my love.

He was naked too in less than a few seconds, coming right back at her to kiss her senseless on the spot, his arousal already pressing against her thighs. He kissed her everywhere he could reach, but he played with her, teasing her even though he needed her too on that moment.

A smirk on his face, he brought her several times on the verge of her orgasm, pulling away from her at the last second and laughing as she was mumbling angry words to his ear, just wanting to relieve the pain her desire was making appear in her lower stomach. "Just get it over with."

"Be patient." He whispered back, laughter in his voice.

He ended up surrendering at the threatening look she was offering him, and with one big stroke of his hips, he buried himself deep inside of her. She let go of a moan of relief, her nails digging into the skin of his back, but he refused to get any faster to bring her to the depth of her pleasure right away. She would only understand later that he probably wanted to get as much of her as possible while he could, but on that moment, all that came out of her mouth was an insult that made him laugh again.

Slowly, he brought them both to their orgasms, and they fell at the same time, his mouth against hers and their heads spinning as they were holding onto each other. Her entire body shaking in violent waves, she forgot about all the names she'd called him while he was teasing her to fall into the depth of her pleasure, a whispered "I love you" escaping her lips as she thought that she was going insane by how damn good he felt.

They didn't fall asleep after that. He just wrapped his arm around her and kissed her hair, and they laid in each other's arms in silence for a long while. She knew that in a few hours, she would be forced to get up and take her false identity back, she would have to get away from the people that she loved the most to live her double life. She was probably going to be exhausted, but she couldn't bring herself to care. If this was the price to pay to see her son's eyes shine with happiness as he was finding her back, and to feel Killian's body against hers, then she was going to pay it gladly. They were more important than anything after all.

He only started to talk again after a long, long time. They were both still wide awake, taking into each other's scent and touch and trying to etch this moment into their memory to keep like a treasure for when they would be apart. "I'm glad that they're treating you the way that you truly deserve. If we have to be apart, at least you are happy. Right?" He asked, as if he were scared that she had embellished the reality.

"They really are great. But I can't be happy. Not totally"

"Why not?" He whispered, holding her even closer to him.

"Because you and Henry are not here with me." She answered as if it were the obvious, because it was. She could never be totally complete without them.

"Gods, I've missed you. And it's only been a day. I don't know how I'm going to bear your absence for so long. I'm so beyond happy and proud that you've got the job, Swan" He added, as if he were scared that she'd taken his words the wrong way. "I'm just..."

"Yeah?" She encouraged him, as he'd interrupted himself, as if afraid to say something wrong. "Whatever you're feeling, Killian, there's nothing wrong about it. I know you're happy that I'm working at the castle, but hell, I've missed you too. So much. You can tell me anything, always. You know that, right?"

"Of course I do." He nodded, then he stopped for another second before finally continuing. "I'm just afraid that everything is going to change, now."

She was about to answer right away, to cry out that nothing could ever change the love they had for each other, that they were in this for the rest of eternity and that this situation was only going to last for a little while. She understood him, she really did, because being far from him was beyond difficult, but he wouldn't lose her, never, no matter how far away she physically was. And she was about to tell him all of this with words, but she suddenly changed her mind. Because she had a better way to show him that nothing would ever break their family.

"Come with me." She whispered then, getting up without giving him any other explanation.

He didn't ask her one question, knowing that she had something important in mind. He just imitated her as she was getting dressed, putting on a simple night gown, and he followed her as she was taking his hand, leading him up on deck. There, into the quiet of the night, she looked up at the sky for a minute before lying down on the floor. Once again, he did as she'd done, and he looked at her, waiting for what was next, staring at her with so much trust and love she knew she'd taken the right decision to take him there.

She gestured to the stars then, staying silent for another second before starting to talk. When she finally did, her voice was a whisper and a small smile was drawn on her face. "Look at the stars, the ones you've taught me all about. It's beautiful and so distant, but still so bright. Isn't it crazy to think that whatever happens to us, that in a year or in centuries, when we'll be gone for long, these stars are still going to be there, untouched and still so gorgeous?"

He didn't say anything back, and she rested her head against his strong shoulder, still smiling. He was usually the one to give such big speeches when he wanted to reassure her about something. He was always there to comfort her about their future and tell her that everything was going to be okay. He was the one who would bring her on deck to see the stars when she was worried, scared or sad. And it was her turn, now. She knew that he wasn't having doubts about her love for him. He was just afraid that their perfect little family would get out of this forever changed. But they wouldn't. Because she wouldn't let it happen.

"The sky will always be there, no matter what happens in our lives. And it's the same for us. No matter what may happen or what situation we find ourselves in, nothing will change our family. What we share is unbreakable. And we will get out of this even stronger. The distance will not break us, Killian. Because no matter what and even in a thousand years, we will still love each other more than anything in the world."

Once again, he stayed silent but he didn't need to say anything for her to understand him. He just turned his head to look at her, and he stared at her face, and she could guess the tears that had appeared in his eyes. She knew that her words had helped him, that he was now sure that nothing would ever be able to break them, because they were stronger than anything. They were true loves, after all. "I'm so in love with you it feels surreal sometimes." He finally murmured into the quiet of the night.

Her heart skipped a beat at that, and instead of answering, she rolled to get on top of him and kiss him senseless on the spot. He held her close and they made love a second time under the stars, on the deck of their home. It was much more tender than it had been before, less urgent and so loving she felt like she was melting into him.

It's only much later that they settled back down, panting and still wrapped around each other, and they simply stayed that way for a while. She finally murmured to his ear when their breathing had grown slower. "I love you, too." She just wanted to tell him, so he would carry these little words with him until they found each other again. No matter the distance, no matter the hardships, she would always love him with everything that she had. And she made this promise to herself that nothing could ever break what they'd managed to build together.

* * *

They only got a couple of hours of sleep after that. Their awakening was difficult, but not because they were tired, but because they had to leave each other again. Her heart shattered as she thought that she really was forced to walk away from her son and the man that she loved, and that she would have to keep on doing that for weeks. She loved the royal couple and her new friends at the castle, but she was still feeling like a part of her was staying on the ship with her boys. Because she would never be whole without them.

She also hated the fact that she had to hurt them to keep this job, because she could tell that they were suffering from her absence as well. She wondered if she would have gone to the interview in the first place if she'd known that it was going to separate her from her family. But what was done was done and at least in a little while, they could finally go live their dream all together. She was doing this for their family, and it was worth every tear she may shed since it was all for them.

Killian and her had ended up going back to their bed the day before, but they hadn't had much time left to sleep. It was still dark when they got up on deck, but she wasn't even feeling the exhaustion, her sadness to leave her family taking the entire place in her heart. She went to her son's room to say goodbye, but he barely woke up when she kissed the top of his head. She didn't insist and told him to go back to sleep. He was so tired, and he needed to rest, even though she would have wanted to hug him and promise him that everything would be okay because she would never leave him.

Killian walked down the boarding ramp with her, this time, as if he were trying to hold her as long as he possibly could. He hugged her for a long time before she left and she held onto him, breathing in his comforting smell and telling herself that in barely a few hours, she would be back there where she truly belonged. She just had to be patient.

When he pulled away, he pressed a quick, sweet peck on her lips, then rested his forehead against hers. She whispered in a broken voice, her heart sinking in her chest and wondering if she was going to feel this pain each time she would walk away from them "I'll see you tonight. I love you so much."

"I love you too, beyond everything, my darling. And I can't wait to have you back in my arms again."

He kissed her one last time, then she forced herself to pull away. They both knew that she couldn't delay her departure any longer, because she had to get to the palace before the sun was up or her entire plan would fall apart and she would be fired on the spot for leaving the castle without permission. As she was reluctantly walking away, she turned to look at him one last time, etching his figure into her memory. She saw him winking at her, as if to reassure her, even though she could feel how hurt he actually was by the fact that he had to see her go again. The smile he offered her was the saddest she'd ever seen.

She started to cry once again as she was moving forward, feeling like her soul was shattering.

She walked fast, trying to get as quickly as possible to the palace, but also trying not to think about her pain. She'd noticed the day before that when she was working and busy talking to her employers, her sadness was fading away just a little bit, allowing her to live. She just had to keep busy and before she knew it, she would be back on the Jolly Roger and everything would be right in the world again. She just had to get through that day.

The sky was just starting to clear up when she reached the castle. She discreetly walked up the hill, then climbed up the tree, the basket that had once contained all the food now empty and stuck in the crook of her elbow again. Before trying to open the window, she silently prayed for everything to work the way she'd planned to and for the window to have stayed open thanks to her hair clip, but she managed to get inside without any difficulty and she let out a sigh of relief.

She sneaked into the Princess' room in silence, and got to her own bedroom, closing the door behind her again. Realizing that she was finally safe and that her plan really was working, she placed the basket on the night table, put on one of the night gowns offered by the Queen, and she settled in her bed, wanting to look like she'd slept there all night long.

She had a bit of time ahead of her to get some rest before she had to wake up, the sun had to be totally up for that, but despite the welcoming warmth of the bed and her exhaustion, she didn't fall asleep completely. Instead, she floated in a half sleep, dreaming about Killian and Henry and what they were doing right now, now that she was away.

She just wanted them beside her. She wanted to spend time with her son and watch him grow up. She wanted to wake up with Killian's arms wrapped around her, his breath in her neck and his mouth dropping kisses to her skin. She wanted to hug them both and never let them go. And being away from them was hurting her almost physically.

She got out of this strange dream when a ray of sunshine made its way through her window to tickle her eyelids. She sat up in her bed, trying to wake up completely and feeling like she was living a complete different life. In addition to her sadness of leaving Henry and Killian behind, her stomach was now in knots as well, because she knew all too well what was awaiting for her that day. She would have to go in front of all these people, and she wasn't sure how she would be able to do it without passing out from panic.

She got up and decided to get dressed then, knowing that staying in bed wasn't of any use and that she should as well do something. She chose a purple dress that was stressing her waistline, managing to lace her corset up by herself. Looking at her reflection in the mirror of the room, she tied her hair up into a complex braid, then imprisoned it in a tight bun. When she looked at herself again, she was pretty satisfied with the result and smiled, imagining Killian's reaction again when he would see her that same night.

When Kate knocked on her door to tell her that it was time to get to work, she was more than ready for her big day.

* * *

"You're doing so well, Leia." Snow congratulated her, her hands clasped together in enthusiasm. Emma smiled, biting her lower lip and focused on her job, but touched by the compliment. "You're a natural."

She didn't say anything, not really knowing what she was supposed to answer, and finished lacing up the Queen's corset under Kate's appreciative gaze. It was the first time she was doing this to someone else, but they were obviously very happy with her work. Snow White's gown was so beautiful, a light pink and stressing her skinny waistline, and she was looking absolutely gorgeous in it.

When she was finally done, Emma took a step back to admire her work, pretty proud of herself. For her first time, she'd done very well, she had to admit it. Taking care of a corset wasn't an easy thing to do when you weren't used to it, but she'd got the moves very easily, and the dress was now perfect. She thought with a smile that, when the Princess would come back, she would be more than ready to welcome and take care of her, be a shoulder she could lean on and offer a lost little girl a home.

Snow spun to look at her reflection, and Kate smiled as she was approaching Emma, briefly placing her hand on her shoulder and looking pretty proud of her protegee. The Queen turned to her then and her grin was so big Emma chuckled, because she looked so pleased it was making her heart swell in her chest. They looked at each other for a second, their smiles never leaving them, then Snow walked and sat on a chair facing another mirror, as Kate was gesturing for Emma to come stand behind her.

"I can see at your hair that you already have some skills for that kind of work." Her new friend said, admiring her bun for a second. "It's a good thing. During a ball or for an important dinner, the Queen always has to look perfect."

Emma thought to herself that looking perfect probably wasn't that complicated for Snow. She was so beautiful, with that gentle spark shinning in her eyes, she was one of the most gorgeous woman she'd ever met. But the Queen nodded with another smile to encourage her to continue, and Kate took another step forward to keep on with her explanations.

She gently took the Queen's long dark locks and brought them back behind her shoulders so they were easier to reach. She gestured for Emma to come take her place, and the Queen's smile widened to encourage her to step forward. Emma took a deep breath, doing as she was told. For a reason she couldn't explain, having to take care of this woman was making her a bit nervous. It was probably because she was reminding her of the mother Judy had once been for her, and it was bringing bittersweet memories back to her mind, she realized.

"We'll start with a simple braid for today. Do you think you can do it?"

Emma had never done anyone's hair except her own. She'd learned how to take care of herself from a very young age, it was Judy who had taught her how to braid her own hair, and it had been her way of calming herself down when she was all alone a few years later. It had always made her feel close to Judy somehow, like she'd never really left her. But she'd never had the opportunity to do this with anyone else, and she didn't really know what to do, too scared of making a mistake.

Nonetheless, she nodded and hid her worry. It couldn't be that complicated, after all. If she could do it on herself and if she'd managed to lace the corset up, she was able to do that too. Gently so she wouldn't hurt her, because it was what she was the most scared of right now, she took one strand of hair and started to work, focused and never looking up once. And a few minutes later, the Queen's beautiful hair was falling in her back in a majestic braid, and Emma stepped back, smiling at her own work.

She was pretty proud of herself and was expecting congratulations again, but against all odds, what she received was much more intense. Without notice, Snow White stood up and took her in her arms to hold her against her heart. First surprised by this unexpected gesture, Emma quickly hugged her back, a bit awkwardly but a smile on her face. A Queen hugging her would have seemed so surreal a few weeks earlier, and yet, it felt so natural and so familiar it surprised her herself.

She didn't say one thing though, her breath stuck in her throat as she was enjoying the gentle, maternal embrace. The Queen ended up pulling away from her, and she gently cupped her cheek to look at her more easily. The familiar gesture didn't even surprise her, because it seemed so  _normal_. She placed both her hands on her shoulders then and said in a low voice

"I'm so glad that you're here with us now, Leia. I can't believe that we've found you. You're the best choice that we could have made. You're perfect. The Princess couldn't wish for a better assistant. She will be so happy to have you when she'll finally be here again."

Emma didn't really know what to answer to that. Her statement was so adorable that she wasn't sure her voice wouldn't break if she started to talk, and tears filled in her eyes, so much that she had to blink several times to hold them back. She knew she couldn't start crying, but these words were reminding her so much of what a mom would say to her daughter that she didn't really know what to do with herself anymore. She didn't know why she was feeling so close to this woman that she knew for barely a few days, she didn't know why the Queen was looking at her with so much pride, but it was making her feel so good she didn't really want to understand it either.

Almost immediately though, the guilt took over her again, made her heart sink and erased her happiness. She was lying to this woman who was doing so much for her. Snow didn't know who she really was, and if she did, she wouldn't be proud, quite the opposite actually. She was an impostor, and the Queen would hate her if she learned about her real past.

But as she'd done before, she forced herself to erase these painful feelings. She knew that she'd lied in order to survive, that she hadn't had a choice. Without her false identity, she would be in a cell right now, forever separated from her family. She would never have come that far if she'd stayed Emma Swan.

Maybe the relationship she had with the Queen was first built on a lie, but everything else was true. She was completely, absolutely herself with her, she wasn't lying about who she was deep inside. Her identity wasn't just a name. It was her skills that she was complimenting, her kindness that she loved so much, and she refused to let her guilt ruin this beautiful moment that they were sharing.

So she smiled and buried her feelings deep inside of her. She allowed Snow's words to get to her, she let them sink in, and she felt her cheeks reddening with pride. She wasn't usually comfortable with these kind of big statements. Only Killian and Henry were managing to offer those to her without making her feel awkward or out of place, and now this woman that she barely knew was doing the same, simply because it felt like she knew her since the beginning of times.

Kate placed a hand on her shoulder then, smiling at how touched she looked, and she said "Come on, now. Let's go get breakfast. We have a big day ahead of us."

Emma nodded and her smile didn't falter as she was following her. She was truly happy to have found a job with people who were treating her so well. She just wished that Killian and Henry could have been here with her as well, but she was carrying them in her heart and this would never change. Her boyfriend's voice rang in her head then, whispering that these people were treating her the way she truly deserved, and she smiled. With his voice soothing her, it almost made her forget about the big presentation coming the same afternoon where she would have to pretend that she was someone she was not in front of an entire kingdom.

* * *

"Are you ready, Leia?" David asked her with a smile, a comforting hand resting on her shoulder.

Emma didn't answer but simply nodded, worried her voice would come out all broken and fragile if she tried to talk. She looked at the balcony in front of her as she was standing in the conference room, the opening covered by big and thick curtains that prevented her from seeing outside. She closed her eyes, trying not to think about the hundreds of people probably standing there underneath that same balcony, waiting for the couple to introduce her. Her stomach painfully tightened at this image, and she quickly tried to find a way to think about something else.

Searching for something concrete, she then wondered about how the couple would manage to be heard by all of these people out there. It was a real thing, something that was keeping her on earth and showing her that this situation wasn't that bad after all, that she was going to be okay.

Her mind searched for an answer and she imagined that they maybe could use magic to amplify their voices, since the Blue Fairy was standing next to them and had magical powers. That was simple, obvious, and it reassured her, to think that there was still something so real beside her in this world.

She was still horribly nervous though, so her mind desperately searched for something else and she thought about Killian's words the day before. He was convinced that everything was going to be all right, and it meant it would, because he would never lie to her. Maybe he was even standing in this crowd with Henry, waiting for her arrival to discreetly encourage her. She knew that this was highly unlikely, but if she imagined that she was only there for the both of them, it would make her feel all better, and she wasn't going to give up on the comfort this idea was providing.

Snow must have realized how uncomfortable she felt, because she came to stand beside her and she smiled, one of those grins that always managed to make her feel better no matter what was happening around her. "Everything is going to be just fine, honey. I promise you that we'll do the talking. You have nothing to worry about. They're going to love you."

"And let's be real, meeting us was way more impressive. We are so intimidating, after all." David joked, what finally made her chuckle slightly.

He winked at her and squeezed her shoulder in a paternal gesture, before gesturing for the guard standing in front of them to open the curtains and divulge the crowd spreading at their feet. Her heart tightened once again and she thought that she was going to be sick when the noises of the mob standing there made their way to her. It was too much, and she stayed completely motionless, hoping that maybe if she didn't move all these people would go away.

The sun blinded her for a second, and she was thankful for it, because it stopped her from seeing what was awaiting for her down there. She would probably have run away if she'd seen the crowd right away, she realized. She only managed to see again when the couple had already walked to the balcony and her breath got painfully stuck in her throat.

They'd decided that they would talk for a while, and that she would only join them for a brief moment, because they knew how anxious she was about all of this. She didn't have to say anything, but the people needed to know who she was - or who she pretended to be - since they would see her often beside the couple now. She just had to come and join them when they would say her false name and stand there for a while. But she clearly hadn't expected what she saw there when she looked down and an unpleasant shiver ran up her spine.

She almost turned back and ran away to her room, but she forced herself to stay right there, because she knew that she didn't have a choice anyway. They were standing on the fourth floor and were overhanging everything. But if she'd thought that the crowd would be big, it was nothing compared to what was actually spreading before her eyes, and she wasn't sure how to breathe anymore.

The hilltop on top of which the castle was built was usually clear, interspersed with trees and flowers. Peaceful. But right now, there were people everywhere. Hundreds of citizens were talking, rushing each other a little, looking up at the balcony to see the couple more easily. When they noticed that they'd appeared, the noises stopped in the span of a second and they bowed in unison, in a move that made her shiver again. They adored the couple, and despite her nervousness, she suddenly found it beautiful.

She was speechless and wasn't sure her legs would obey if she tried to move. The hand Kate pressed on her shoulder finally brought her back to reality then, and she was able to breathe again. It wasn't that bad, she tried to comfort herself. She wouldn't have to talk. Everything was going to be okay. So she stayed there, her heart pounding so fast it could burst, waiting for the next part and just hoping it would be over soon because she wasn't sure she would be able to stand there for much longer.

Snow White walked to the end of the balcony, David's hand in hers. She smiled with the confidence people had when they'd done the same things thousands of times, and she started to talk, her voice magically amplified for everyone to hear. "Thank you all for coming today."

The crowd stood back up again, their heads tilted to look at her. Emma was too far away to really see their expressions, but she could guess the look of pure adoration painted on their faces. They loved them, and would be loyal to them no matter what. No wonder, they were absolutely perfect.

The thought of the Evil Queen once trying to hurt this wonderful woman that Snow White was was inconceivable to her. She couldn't understand how someone could hate such a kind person, and the crowd looked like they agreed with her silent thoughts, because they were looking at her like she was an angel coming right from heaven to bless them all.

"As you probably know it already, we wanted to reunite you here for a very special occasion." David continued, smiling. "As we've announced it a few days ago, we started to look for an assistant for our daughter. The Princess will surely be here soon, and we want her to feel at home when she'll get to us. Having someone she will be able to count on is going to help her a lot. So we've chosen the assistant very carefully, because we know that this will be crucial for the future of our daughter. Thank you to all of those who came to the interview, and today, it's with a great pleasure that we introduce you to the woman who will now be standing beside the Princess at all time. We are more than happy to welcome her in this castle, and she's already been absolutely perfect in the short time that she's been here."

Emma's heart was still thumping in her ears, but she was more than touched by the King's words. Even though she was spending much more time with Snow, she was already feeling close to that man who was so kind to her, like a father would have been. "So it's an honor to introduce Leia Stark to all of you." Snow said then, snapping Emma out of her thoughts as she was realizing that it was her turn to walk forward and join them. "Come, honey. Don't be shy." She encouraged her kindly.

Emma was suddenly feeling dizzy, like she was about to pass out. The ground felt fragile under her feet, and she was feeling like it could crumble at any given moment. She didn't know if she would be able to step forward and face all of these people who had come to see her, despite Snow White's gentle and encouraging gaze. She truly hated being the center of attention, and she was scared that someone would know who she was, or that she would make a fool of herself out there.

What she was the most afraid of was the thought of the couple realizing that they'd chosen the wrong person when she would go there and do something she shouldn't have. They would probably fire her and she would never find a job again because of her bad reputation. Henry, Killian and her were going to be forced to move again, maybe take other identities one more time, to start everything anew while they'd found a good life here, all because of her. Good lord, she was leading her own family to its loss.

She only realized that she was being paranoid when Kate gently pushed her forward so she would finally move, because everyone was waiting for her. She took a deep breath, knowing now that she had no reasons to think that way and that nothing would happen to her. She briefly turned to her new friend for support, because she didn't know what else to do, and Kate raised an eyebrow and smiled, looking pretty amused by her behavior. In a whisper, she said "Don't worry, I was feeling the same way when this happened to me. But you'll be fine."

Emma nodded, still feeling like she was going to throw up, and turned away again to meet the Queen's smile, as she was still patiently waiting for her to join them. Looking into Snow's gentle gaze, she finally allowed herself to relax. She sighed and closed her eyes for a second, and to give herself some courage, she imagined that Killian and Henry were both standing in front of her on that moment. They were promising her that everything was going to be alright, and she believed them. The two most important people of her life. Her all world. She was doing this for them. And everything was worth it if it was for that reason.

"You can do anything, love." Killian's voice whispered in the back of her mind, and it finally gave her the strength to step forward and walk into the bright light of the afternoon. She tried to ignore the crowd in front of her, and chose to focus on Snow instead, who pressed her hand in hers to gently reassure her. She was probably guessing her fears, because she gently smiled at her and kept her fingers wrapped around Emma's as she was talking.

"We're blessed to have found Leia. Even though she's only been here for a couple of days, it's already obvious that she's the perfect assistant for the Princess. We can't wait for our daughter to come home and meet her. We're finally ready to welcome her, now."

"From now on, Leia is a part of our family." The King added kindly. "And we're sure that you're going to love her as much as we already do."

Hundreds of sounds filled in the space once again when the King got quiet, as if everyone had started to talk at the same time. Emma shook her head, not understanding what was happening. She blinked nervously, realizing that she was shaking. She didn't know what was going on, and it was terrifying. Noting her nervousness, the Queen wrapped her arm around her waist to bring her close, and whispered to her ear. "They're welcoming you, Leia."

It's only then that she finally realized what the din was really about, and she felt herself sigh in relief. They weren't making fun of her, the opposite really. They were clapping, yelling cries of congratulations. They were all talking, chatting about her and at the tone of their voices, they seemed pretty happy to meet her. So she finally decided to look up and watch them, ready to discover what was surrounding her, and how her life was going to be for a little while.

Her own reaction surprised her beyond everything she could ever have imagined.

She stopped shaking. Without realizing it, she stood straight, and she didn't even notice the smile that spread on her face as she was looking at the crowd of people at her feet. She needed another second to realize what she was feeling, because it was so unexpected it felt surreal.

She was feeling good, confident. She was feeling like she was exactly where she was meant to be.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't really have much to say today, only that I am so grateful for all your support once again. You guys are the best and I hope that you'll like this chapter!

Slowly, the seconds, the minutes, the hours passed until it was finally time for Emma to go meet Killian and Henry again. It wasn't that she was bored of her job, quite the opposite actually. After the exhilaration of the presentation in front of the kingdom, she'd stayed with the couple and with her new friends, and she'd learned more about her new position, about what to do and how to do it. She'd done a lot and she'd liked it. It wasn't about that. It was just that being away from the two people she loved the most was actually killing her, despite how glad she was to be working in such a safe and happy place, and she just couldn't wait to hug them again.

So when, finally, the couple went to bed and she found herself alone in her room, much later than the day before, she started her new routine again. She completely ignored her bed despite how exhausted she was, and she looked at the food she'd managed to gather during the day, not paying attention to her stomach rumbling and pretty happy to notice that her family would have more than enough with this amount of supplies once again.

She took the basket and, silently, she walked to the wooden door, entering the Princess' room. Making her way out, she placed one hair clip against the corner of the window, made sure that she wasn't damaging her dress, and she climbed down the tree, then the hilltop. And she made her way through the dark, quickly, wanting to have as much time as possible with her son and boyfriend before having to go back to the castle.

She found herself lost in her thoughts as she was walking, trying to get home as fast as she physically could. She was still a bit confused about what had happened during her presentation that day, and thinking about that, she started to absently chew on her lower lip. This meeting with the crowd that she'd dreaded so much had actually gone very well. More than that, actually, because she'd felt good, she'd felt like she was meant to be up there, watching these people she didn't know welcoming her into her new life. And she'd beamed at the citizens, as they were cheering for her. It was not what she had expected, but it'd felt so natural she couldn't seem to understand her own feelings.

She'd only stood on that balcony for a short period of time and yet, when she'd come back inside the castle, she'd felt like something had changed inside of her. She was more confident, somehow, and the feeling that she was an impostor had faded away for good. She had started to feel like she truly belonged there, and she'd smiled and laughed with the couple, actually enjoying her time with them. But during all this happy time, she'd still missed her family terribly. And finally coming back to them now was making her heart beat faster in happiness.

It was so incomprehensible to feel like she was meant to be in that castle, while she'd been used to such a different environment for her entire life, she realized. Actually, if Killian and Henry had been there with her in this palace, she perhaps could have felt at home, almost. But she would never really feel that way, first because she liked the Jolly Roger too much, and second because her family wasn't there with her. As Killian had said it the day the Dome had disappeared, wherever they were, if they were together, they were home. And they weren't there, so she couldn't be complete without them, never.

She was trying to make sense of what she was feeling and to understand why she'd found herself so confident all of the sudden on that balcony, while she was walking toward her boyfriend and son. This entire situation and her own behavior was making her more than perplexed. But at the same time, she couldn't complain about this new trust that had arisen in her. Now that she had this job, she would have to face the crowd quite often, even if it was just to stand beside the Princess. And she was even feeling able to take care of the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming now, as if the confidence that they had in her had finally made her understand that she deserved to be in this castle with them.

She truly couldn't wait to meet the Princess now, and for her to be home. She had no doubts about the fact that they would get along, since she had been a lost girl too once upon a time. She just hoped that the Lost Princess would get home soon, and that she wouldn't feel too overwhelmed by all this changes going on around her. But even if it was going to be hard to get used to this new life in the castle, Emma would be there to offer her a shoulder to lean on. She would understand what she was going through, and the Princess would be able to confide in her when things would get too hard and everything would seem too much. She felt ready for that, because she was so certain that their lives had taken similar paths for a while, the path of lost little kids wondering why they never seemed to be enough for anyone.

It wasn't only the fact that they were the same age, but mostly how they'd both been orphans. Maybe she'd found a good family to take care of her, Emma hoped so for her anyway, but orphans weren't rare in the Enchanted Forest and perhaps she'd had to go through horrible hard times as well. And if she thought that her birth parents had left her without knowing the true story behind it, she'd probably felt unloved and unwanted too. It wasn't the case for Emma anymore, because she had a wonderful little boy and an amazing partner by her side now, but maybe the Princess hadn't had that chance. And she hoped the royal couple and herself could show her that she was worth it, exactly like Killian was doing for her every day since they'd met.

She finally reached the Jolly Roger a little while later. As the day before, she looked up and saw Killian leaning against the handrail, waiting for her. She smiled and he smirked, and she ran to him, wrapping her arms around his neck to bring him close to her and kiss him senseless.

They kissed and kissed until the world stopped around them, as if they'd been separated for years and not only for a few hours. Their tongues found each other and their lips crashed as they were trying to take as much of the other as they possibly could. They didn't say anything for the first few minutes. They just tasted each other, trying to convince themselves that they really were back together and that, for a few hours, everything would be right in the world again.

When they parted, breathless and trying to relieve their painful lungs, he locked his arms around her and didn't let go for a long while, as if he wanted to stop her from walking away again. She herself grabbed the back of his coat as if it'd been a lifesaver, and she breathed in his scent and kissed his neck, her heart beating almost painfully at how much she'd missed him during these few hours of separation. She just loved him and Henry so much, and she wished from the bottom of her heart that, soon, they would be reunited for good and would never have to part ever again, because her soul was shattering every time she was forced to leave them and she just wanted to be with her family again.

He didn't tell her that he'd missed her this time, because it was obvious. So he just whispered to her ear, still breathless after their kiss. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She said back, still holding onto him for dear life.

She closed her eyes and kissed his skin again, just wanting to feel him close. Even though she loved her new job, she realized that she would have left it in the span of a second if they hadn't needed this money. Because she didn't need these beautiful dresses and this life of luxury and riches, she didn't need this gorgeous bedroom or the feeling of satin on her skin. All she needed was them, her family. Her true treasures were here, on this ship, and she only knew real happiness in the presence of those she loved the most. Material things didn't matter, all she needed were these two amazing boys who had made her the person she was today.

They just stayed wrapped around each other, standing under the stars for a very long while. Time had stopped and it was just the two of them left there, finally reunited, feeling like everything was right in the world again as they were holding onto the other. He kissed her neck, her cheek, everywhere he could reach, and she buried her face in his neck and breathed him in and wished that she could avoid sleeping so she could stay with him forever. None of the dreams she could ever have could compare to what she was feeling when she was with him.

It was a while before she started to talk again, whispering in his neck because she just didn't want to let go of him. "Henry is asleep, isn't he?" She'd guessed he was, given the late hour. She didn't want him to be as exhausted as she already was because of her.

"He is." He nodded, his hand still spread wide in her back to hold as much of her as he could. "But we'll go wake him up."

"I'm scared he'll be too tired." She said, because she just wanted to spend time with her little boy, but his well-being was more important than any of her desires.

"He'll stop talking to me if we don't go and wake him, Swan." He chuckled slightly, and during this short, wonderful second, she felt like she was back in the past and they were teasing each other, and laughing together again like nothing at all had changed. "I've promised I would tell him when you'd be back. And you know that I always keep my promises."

"I know." She laughed quietly. "Let's go, then. I can't wait to tell you both about my day, and to hear about yours."

He nodded and kissed her neck one last time, taking her hand in his before pulling away, as if he couldn't bear the idea of not touching her even for a second after being separated for the day. She sighed in happiness to finally be back where she really belonged, and their fingers interlaced all naturally as they were walking to their son's room.

Even though she was so tired and even if she wasn't seeing them as much as she would have wanted to, at night, everything seemed normal again as they were finally reunited. And she managed to convince herself that everything was going to be all right, as she was holding the man she loved and walking to join her little boy. Nothing could break them and they would get out of this situation even stronger than before. Because they could overcome anything together.

As the day before, she found Henry fast asleep underneath his blankets. Gently, she sat down on the edge of his bed and tried to slowly get him out of his sleep by softly running her fingers through his hair. Once again, he woke up with a smile on his face when he realized that she was back, and he jumped to hug her, staying snuggled against her for a little while.

They shared a meal together, and this time, she allowed herself to eat more than she had the day before because she was absolutely starving. Her stomach was almost painful with hunger and she was aware that this wasn't a good sign, because she couldn't get sick. Henry and Killian had more than enough for the both of them in there, and she had to stay healthy, for the royal couple but mostly for her family, because she had to walk the length of the city every night to come back to them and she needed to be in good shape for that. She wasn't invincible, she needed all her strengths to keep on going all while barely sleeping or eating. And nothing would keep her from coming to see her family, she was refusing to even think about that possibility.

She didn't really have the time to talk about her day that night, though. She asked them to tell her what they'd done first, because she wanted to convince herself that if she knew everything about them, maybe they wouldn't feel so out of reach anymore.

They talked about how they'd gone to the city, and she was about to ask them more about their little excursion when Henry begged her to tell them about her own activities at the castle. Killian smiled as she was speaking about how she'd taken care of the Queen, but Henry fell asleep all of the sudden, exhausted by the late hour, and she didn't have the time to talk about her presentation, or to ask them more about their visit to the Lost Kingdom.

As if a routine had already settled now that their lives had changed so much, Emma and Killian both tucked Henry into bed once again, and she took her boyfriend's hand to bring him to their room. This time, she was the one that led their familiar dance, as a kind revenge for all his teasing the day before. She refused all of his tries to initiate something, staying on top and even pinning his hand and stump above his head to stop him from moving as she was kissing his neck, gently biting at the thin skin there.

He'd always loved her initiatives and he didn't protest when she ordered him not to move, and she played with him as he'd done with her the day before. She kissed, licked and teased, making him moan and ask her to go faster in a raspy voice. She didn't listen, simply laughing at his impatience and continuing with her teasing. She only surrendered when he begged her to finish the damn job in a pleading tone, all control over his emotions lost because of what she was making him feel. "Do you like torturing me like that?"

"Only because you did it first yesterday." She chuckled, pushing her hips against him and making him groan.

"You're going to be the death of me, woman."

It made her laugh again and, finally, her movements grew quicker and her kisses more tender, and she brought them both to their orgasms in the span of a few minutes. They ended up falling on the bed, her lying on top of him, their naked bodies still pressed together and panting into each other's skin as they were refusing to let go in order to extend their moment.

She stayed in that position, on top of him and her face buried in his neck, and he wrapped his arms around her to hold her close, kissing her head and temple every few seconds. She was feeling so loved and safe her heart could have burst from happiness, and they stayed like this for minutes or hours, they just couldn't tell anymore. The tension previously present in the room, that had only been a game between them, was now completely gone and only adoration and tenderness was left as they were so close they couldn't tell where one was beginning and where the other was ending anymore.

It's only much later that she finally rolled on her side to release him from her weight. He immediately wrapped his arm around her again to hold her tight, and she rested her head against his chest, kissing his skin there as he was running his fingers through her messy blond locks. They stayed silent for a while, just enjoying the warmth and comfort the other was providing, and it's her who started to talk again, her whisper ringing into the quiet of the room.

"So, you've gone to the city, then?"

"We have." He smiled. "And you were absolutely perfect."

She frowned, needing a moment to understand his words. Finally, a huge smile spread on her lips as she was realizing what he actually meant. Could that be true? She'd imagined that Henry and Killian were both in the crowd during the presentation to give herself some courage, and it was making her so happy that maybe they'd really been there after all. "You saw me? You came?"

"Of course we came." He said softly. "We wouldn't have missed it for the world, my Swan. I took Henry to the city and he was happy to visit the Kingdom, but he was mostly ecstatic to see you. He was so proud to watch you standing up there next to the royal couple, and I was too. And everyone around us was so pleased to finally meet you. Everybody was talking about the beautiful new assistant Snow White had found for her daughter."

"Don't overstate it." She chuckled, feeling herself blushing at his compliment. "I didn't do anything special, really. I just stood on this balcony and didn't even say a word."

"Maybe, but you did it perfectly, and it was obvious that you were happy to be there. I'm so glad that these people are finally seeing you for what you really are. Gorgeous, amazing, perfect."

"Thank you." She just answered then, because she didn't know what else to do, his words touching her too much for her to find something more relevant to say.

A comfortable silence settled between them again as they were both lost in their thoughts. Being quiet had never bothered any of them, they were too close for that. They could understand each other without words, and this silence wasn't hiding anything. They knew everything about each other, every scar, every tear, every secret, and after learning all of that, they hadn't run but had just fallen deeper in love with each other at every painful memory they had shared. They were trusting each other so much they could just be themselves when they were together. That was what living with your best friend truly felt like.

She thought about how happy she was that her son and boyfriend had come to see her. It wasn't that she'd doubted they would walk miles for her, but she'd assumed that the crowd wasn't very appealing to any of them. But they'd come all this way to watch her simply standing there on this balcony, and how supportive they both were was making her heart swell.

She'd truly found her place in this world beside these two beautiful souls that were her family. After all the losses and all the pain, the happiness she was now living was so huge it felt surreal sometimes. The lost little girl had found such a good life after all. And when they would have enough money to support them and their dream, she would finally come back home for good, and then everything would be fine again.

After a few more minutes, she started to talk to admit in a small voice. "I was terrified before walking on this balcony, you know."

He held her a bit closer, kissed her hair and said. "I'd guessed that you would. I know you hate being the center of attention. But you seemed so confident, up there. What made you feel better?"

"You." She smiled, and even though she couldn't see his face, she guessed the questioning spark shinning in his eyes. "I imagined that you were beside me, or down there in the crowd. It made me feel like I was doing all of this for you and Henry, and it gave me the strength to carry on."

"I'm glad that it helped you." He said, and she guessed how moved he was by the tone of his voice. "And we are there to support you, always. I didn't want to miss your big day."

As a quiet thank you, she gently ran her hand down his cheek, then continued in a soft voice. "It was strange, though. When I looked at the crowd, all my fears faded away. It was like I'd done this my entire life. As if I'd always been meant to be there. Isn't it odd? I come from an entire different world, and yet it felt so natural to stand there next to this couple."

"Maybe it's because you are meant for this life, after all. It suits you." He said gently.

"I'm not meant for this, Killian. I belong with you." She just answered, and it made him sigh in happiness, as if he'd needed her to remind him that she was doing all of that for them.

They fought against sleep again that night, so they could stay together just for a little bit longer. They just stayed wrapped around each other, their hearts beating in unison, feeling like their love was becoming a bit deeper with every passing day. And she knew deep down that what they felt for each other was stronger than anything, that they could overcome every obstacle thrown in their way, and that in a thousand years, when they would be gone for good, they would still be together. Always them against the world.

* * *

The days, the weeks passed, and an odd kind of routine settled as the summer was yellowing the grass around the castle, and the sun was making the birds chirping in the trees. In the morning, Emma would walk to the palace before the sun was up, then she could enjoy one hour of rest in her big bed, even though she would never sleep very well just because her boyfriend wasn't there with her. And at night, she would come back to Henry and Killian and they would spend a few precious hours together, always too short and going too fast. They just would have wanted to have more time, but they needed to settle with that for a while, and they knew all of this was for a good cause. They were never complaining, just enjoying each other as a new kind of urgency had taken over every single one of their meetings.

Still, knowing that it was just temporary wasn't making their separations any less painful.

About once a week, the royal couple would give her a day off. The Princess wasn't there yet and Emma's presence wasn't crucial, so during those days, she could leave the castle and be free for a little while. Her employers probably thought that she was going out to visit the city, but she was obviously going to meet her boys. She was always greeted with intense embraces and laughter coming from her son, as they were so happy to have her back.

They would always stay on the ship during those days, trying not to get out too much in case someone would recognize her and tell the couple that she had lied and actually had a family. But it was also mostly because staying on the Jolly Roger was making them feel like they'd come back to the past and everything was the way it'd once been in their lives. They would just talk and laugh, and despite the fact that she loved her new job and the friends she'd made at the castle, these moments were her favorites. Spending time with Henry and Killian was allowing her to know true happiness, and she would have wanted for these meetings to last forever.

However, the more the time passed, the more she was feeling good in the castle. She was getting closer and closer to Snow, David, Chiara and Kate. But still, if she could have chosen between these two parts of her life, she would have spent all her time on the ship with the people who mattered the most to her. And she was suffering from their absence, from being so far away from them. She was feeling like they were slipping through her fingers and she couldn't do anything about it.

After being with her son non-stop for more than ten years, she now felt like she was never seeing him anymore. She was leaving home early and was coming back late, and he was asleep most of the time when she was on the ship. It was giving her the awful feeling that she was missing his childhood, while she would have wanted to spend every minute of her time with him. And she was also suffering from Killian's absence by her side, because even though she was always telling him all about her job at the castle, she was missing their endless conversations and teasing at any hour of the day terribly.

If she was being honest and even if this new job was good and safe and she actually liked it, she was missing her normal life with her boys. And she was being torn apart by these two contradictory feelings. She was so happy to work at the castle, to be treated so well, to feel like she was accepted by these people. But she was also feeling like she was pulling away from her family, from those who really mattered, and she was feeling so helpless because she couldn't do anything about it.

She was also exhausted by her daily walks to the Jolly Roger, but it was more than worth it if it meant that she could be with her family. She barely slept at all and dark circles had appeared underneath her eyes, but she was refusing to miss any minute with her boys and was thus fighting against sleep at night. She was growing thinner, too. Her dresses were gradually becoming too wide because of how little she was eating in order to keep as much food as possible for her family, but once again, she wasn't regretting her decision. She needed to do this, so she could be reunited with Henry and Killian as soon as possible.

She was surprised that she was still managing to hide her weight loss from Killian, through. They were too eager to find each other again at night to lose any time, and he still hadn't noticed her ribs now visible underneath her pale skin. It wasn't going to last for much longer, she knew it. He was going to notice what choice she'd made sooner than later, and then she would have to find another way to get them food. But for now, everything was okay and she was enjoying this possibility that she had to save more money. She knew her boyfriend was going to worry when he would learn what she'd done in order to feed them, but once again, it was all worth it. And it was only temporary.

Every morning, Emma would help Kate to take care of Snow White and learn more about the job she would have to do once the Princess would get home. She was getting pretty good at it, if she could refer to the Queen's pleased gaze each time she would finish a task. And all this time spent together was allowing her not only to become closer to Kate, but also to Snow.

The Queen was behaving with her like a mother would have, reminding her of Judy a bit more every day. She was a mother without a child and it was breaking Emma's heart, but she knew that, soon enough, she would find her little girl back. And she actually liked feeling that safe and appreciated by this woman that she knew for barely a few weeks. She just hoped that when she would get to the castle, the Princess would feel loved and not like all this affection was too much, but she was sure that the Queen would know what to do. She always knew how to act with her, anyway.

It's during one of those mornings, a bit over three weeks after the big presentation, that Snow started to talk in a serious way that told her assistants that something important was happening. Emma had just finished tying up her employer's long hair into a majestic bun, and Kate was appreciating her work when the Queen turned to them, looking at them solemnly. Emma immediately knew that what she was about to say was going to change everything, and she braced herself for what was coming, somewhat nervous to know what was going on.

"I've talked with David yesterday."

Kate and Emma shared a worried glance, and they shook their heads in unison, not understanding the Queen's words but also deeply concerned by what she'd just said. This couldn't be good, could it? She was looking so serious and Emma grew scared that she'd done something wrong and that everything was going to change again because of her.

Her breath stuck in her throat, she blinked and looked straight into Snow's eyes, trying to silently ask her what the hell was going on. But the little chuckle the Queen let go of made her remember how to breathe again, as her employer was briefly placing her hand over hers to calm her down.

"Don't look at me like that, you two, everything is just fine. Don't you worry." She reassured them, and Emma let go of sigh of relief as she was realizing that nothing bad was happening. As always, her fears of not being enough had reappeared all of the sudden, and her worry that someone would end up discovering that she was a criminal wasn't making things any easier. "These are actually good news." Snow continued, snapping Emma out of her thoughts. "David and I talked for a while, and we've both decided that you are now more than ready to take care of someone by yourself, Leia."

Emma frowned, wondering what Snow meant by that. Her words were staying pretty vague, and if she was more than happy that the couple was finding her good enough to finish her training, she still didn't understand what all of this truly meant. The Queen didn't give her the time to really ask herself more questions, though. She smiled softly and added with pride shinning in her eyes.

"That's why David and I decided that I was time for us to officially begin the search for the Princess."

This statement surprised Emma more than it probably should have. The King and Queen were talking about their daughter and how she would be there with them soon all the time, and she should have guessed that they would start searching for her sooner than later. But her surprise was actually coming from the fact that she knew it was an important decision for the couple. More than that, actually, it was crucial. It was most probably going to change the course of their lives.

This entire situation was going to take time and be incredibly intense, and despite their determination to find their daughter and their hope that she would be back in their arms soon, they would probably not locate the Princess right away. And they were certainly going to have this little voice at the back of their heads telling them to stop hoping, because she was lost for good and she wouldn't come back. And it was going to hurt them beyond words.

Emma was convinced that having hope was the best thing to do now, she knew for a fact that the Princess was still alive, she could feel it in her bones. She was not even surprised by her complete change of opinion about this entire situation in the few weeks she'd worked there, her who had been so sure that all of this was only a myth. The Princess was still out there, and they were going to find her. But it was going to be hard for the couple to keep hope if she wasn't showing herself soon.

And when she would get home, it was probably going to be complicated too. She was an adult now, perhaps someone who'd never had real parents or who had felt unloved and worthless for most of her life. She would maybe feel overwhelmed or out of place in this castle, and Emma could understand that perfectly, because she'd gone through the same thing. But these difficulties could also hurt the royal couple, who just wanted to find their little girl back.

This process was going to be straining and probably painful, and they needed to stay strong to get through it. So Emma promised herself that whatever happened, she would stay a shoulder they could lean on at any time. They would probably need that support, and it was her job to provide this for them.

"We know that this is going to be burdensome." Snow continued, as if she'd read Emma's thoughts. "A lot of young women are probably going to come here and try to pretend that they are the Princess, hoping to access the life we're offering our daughter. We're not naive and we know what people can do for money. But we have a way to tell lies from the truth."

She took a brief pause, seriously looking at her assistants. "We've never told the kingdom about the name we chose for the Princess when she was born. No one knows how she's called, aside from David, me, and a few close friends. We didn't talk about it to many people, because we knew this would come into play later on. Actually, the girl who will be called the same way our daughter is will be considered as the Princess."

Kate and Emma both raised their eyebrows in surprise at the same time, not really convinced by this solution. Surely, the Princess wasn't the only woman of her age to have that name they'd picked for her. And even if she was, how could their daughter be aware of the name they'd chosen, given that she'd been separated from them at birth?

The Queen continued, smiling slightly at their reactions. "I know it seems impossible to use this proof, but we've left her a clue so she knew the name we'd chosen for her. If she can show us that clue, we'll be sure that she isn't lying. And even if she can't, I'm convinced that I'll manage to tell a lie from the truth. I don't know my daughter, and I can't wait to learn more about her, but she's my baby. When I'll see her, I'll know."

Emma had a small smile, believing her this time. She knew what being a mom was like. She knew she would have recognized Henry in a crowd of thousands of people, and she could feel his feelings in her own bones. Sometimes, she was feeling like she had two hearts beating in her chest, her own and her son's, feeling every single one of his emotions. The bound they were sharing was stronger than anything, and it was probably the same thing for the Queen and her daughter. When they would meet, they would be drawn to each other, and this would be the final clue they needed. They really were going to find their daughter. She had no doubt about it.

The Queen's speech was reminding her of all the rumors that had run in the tavern where she had been with her family to learn more about the Dome's disappearance and the search for the Princess' assistant. It seemed like an eternity ago while in reality barely a few weeks had passed, but so much had changed for her since then. And she realized that while she'd doubted the citizens back then, there was a lot of truth in what they'd said. She'd been wrong to think that these people were hoping for nothing. The Princess would be there soon, and nothing could separate her from her family ever again.

So she nodded ans smiled, Kate doing the same beside her, as they were both showing the Queen that they were agreeing with her. They were going down this path by her side, there to comfort her when things would get too hard and, together, they would end up finding the Princess. No matter how much time it would take or how much tears the couple would shed, they would eventually manage to get what they wanted.

Snow grinned at them, and added "That's where you come into play. Kate, I'm going to need your support more than I ever have, because this process is going to be straining, I know it and I'm going to need you by my side. And Leia, since you're the Princess' assistant, we will need you to be there with us when we'll conduct the meetings to talk with the women claiming that they are our daughter. We want you to be one of the first faces she will see, because she'll need to trust you in case she has a problem. So you both need to be by my side at all time. This is very important."

Even though Emma nodded because she knew that this was the right thing to do, her heart tightened a little bit. She was going to be forced to witness all these impostors not caring about hurting Snow and David and just wanting to get access to the life they were offering. She would have to see the couple's hope crumbling at how painful it all was. And she didn't want them to get hurt, even if she knew it was unavoidable. So she was going to be there for them, to comfort them and support them through everything.

In addition to that, the few days or weeks that were going to follow would be busy. She wasn't sure she was going to have many days off, and it meant that she wouldn't have the opportunity to go see her family as much anymore. She still had the nights spent on the ship, but it wasn't the same as spending an entire day with them. It was painful, but she had expected that this moment would eventually come. So she didn't say one thing and she waited for what was next, hoping that everything was going to go smoothly.

"We'll talk to the citizens tomorrow afternoon." The Queen decided. "In addition to that, some of our guards are going to travel the region to place wanted notices everywhere they can. I'm sure that my daughter is near or the curse wouldn't have been broken, but if this doesn't work, we'll travel further into the Enchanted Forest. Whatever we need to find the Princess. We'll start meeting the women who want to come to the castle and convince us that they're our daughter in a few days. And we hope that, soon, we'll finally be a family again."

Snow stayed silent for a few seconds, as if waiting for Kate or Emma to say something else, but they both stayed silent, taking in the importance if this decision and everything that it was going to bring with it. Snow smiled after an instant then, and she got up from her chair to approach them. She took their hands in hers and started again in a lighter tone.

"Thank you both for always being here. I can't even begin to tell you how much your support means to me."

"Of course." Kate just nodded, and Emma simply smiled because she didn't know what else to say. "We are happy to be here."

"I have good news for you, though." The Queen said again, her smile widening. "After our speech to warn the citizens about our decision tomorrow, you'll have the rest of the afternoon off. And since we're going to ask a lot from you in the following days, you'll have the day after for you as well. It'll give you the time to relax a bit before the big adventure that we're starting together."

Emma couldn't contain the huge smile that spread on her face at these words. She was going to have two days to herself. Almost two whole days that she could use to spend time with her family, and finally feel like everything was back to normal. Two days she could spend in Killian's arms, watching Henry grow up and just being happy to be with the two people she loved the most. She couldn't have been happier, and she wasn't sure how she could describe how glad she was on that moment.

So she thanked the Queen, but Snow just shrugged, telling her that she just needed to enjoy her free time. After that, as if everything had been said, she gestured for them to get downstairs and share breakfast with her and the King, their day going on as usual as if they hadn't completely grasped the importance of what was going to happen around them just yet

During this all time, Emma's smile didn't leave her once, because she was going back to her boys and she just couldn't wait.

* * *

"They're going to announce that they will start searching for the Princess soon tomorrow." Emma said into the quiet of the room.

She was snuggled against Killian's naked chest, her head resting over his heart as he was holding her close to him. Once again, she hadn't had the time to really talk about her day, Henry falling asleep from exhaustion after a few minutes spent in her arms. She'd tried not to be too sad about it, telling herself that she would be able to spend two days with her little boy very soon. He was going to be the happiest when she would tell him that she was going to be able to come back like nothing had ever changed in their lives.

She hadn't told Killian or Henry that she had two days off yet. She wanted to surprise them, to come back earlier the next day and to see their faces when they would understand that their family could be reunited for a little while. She just couldn't wait to see their reactions when she would be back and she smiled against Killian, who tenderly pressed a kiss into her hair.

As always, they'd made love after Henry had fallen asleep, and they hadn't put back on their clothes afterwards, just staying wrapped around each other in their bed and enjoying the other's touch. It was always during those quiet moments that she would tell him everything that had happened to her during the day, and he would always listen to her intently, asking questions and genuinely interested by what she was telling him. "They are?" He answered then, encouraging her to continue.

"Yeah." She sighed. "It's probably going to be painful, since a lot of women are going to try and pretend that they are the Princess to get money. They don't care and if they hurt the couple, and it's going to break my heart to see them aching because of that."

"How will they know which one of these women is their real daughter?" He asked softly.

"They have their own way, and I think that it's going to work. I really hope that they're going to find her soon. I can't wait to meet her and for them to be a family again, you know?"

"You're going to be perfect with her, love." He said then, what made her smile. "She's going to love you."

"I hope so." She chuckled. "I'll do my best. Anyway, after the speech they're going to give the citizens tomorrow, I have a surprise for you."

"You do?" He asked, surprised. "And may I ask what this is about?"

"No, you may not." She laughed, and he followed, amused by her answer. "I want it to stay a surprise."

"And is it a good one?" He said, playing along.

"Well, I certainly hope so."

He chuckled again, but he stayed silent for a few seconds before answering anything, holding her a bit closer as if he were scared that she was going to fade away all of the sudden. "Gods, Swan. I'm missing this. I'm missing us."

"Me too." She sighed, suddenly saddened by his words while the atmosphere in the room had been so playful barely a few seconds before. "But I'm still here, aren't I? I'm not going anywhere. And it's only for a little while"

"I know." He said with a sad smile. "Just promise me one thing."

"Anything." She answered right away because she would have done anything for him to feel better.

"Promise me that, after this, we'll never be separated again. You're my North Star, Swan. I'm lost without you."

She blinked to chase away the tears that had appeared in her eyes. "I swear to you that when all of this will be over, we'll never have to be apart again, Killian. Even when we're ghosts. Promise."

"It's all I needed to hear." He said back, and he kissed her neck a few times until she decided to move to be on top of him.

They made love again, but slowly and gently this time, taking their time and murmuring their love to each other again and again, to convince themselves that nothing at all had changed. He held her so tight, trying to bring her as close to him as he could, and she moved slowly and whispered to his ear that everything was going to be all right. Their future would be bright and full of laughter. They just needed to get through this.

* * *

The speech the couple gave had gone fast. Emma hadn't had anything to say, she had just stood next to the Queen, beside Kate, and she'd listened to the couple announcing everything that was finally going to be organized to find their daughter. They had talked about how it was going to go, telling that they would welcome and listen to the women who thought that they could be the Princess, and that they would decide whether or not they were lying. They asked the citizens to talk about this decision to everyone they knew, so the information could travel even further than the kingdom, and their daughter could have a chance to hear that she could finally come back home.

Aware that they were attracting liars with this request, they still asked every woman who was born the day of the Dark Curse to come to the castle, and Emma could read a real determination in their gaze as they were talking. They wanted to find their daughter no matter what pain they would have to go through for it to happen. So she addressed a silent prayer to every gods she could think of for their wish to become true and for the Princess to come back home soon.

Henry would have gone insane before, if he'd heard the couple asking for every person who shared her birthday to come to the castle. He would have thought that she really was the Princess and that she had to go there and find out the truth. But he hadn't talked about this possibility of her being the couple's daughter since she'd come to work at the palace. Maybe it was because he'd noticed that the Queen hadn't recognized her, which meant that she was not the Princess after all, or maybe they just hadn't had the time to talk about this entire situation since they were barely seeing each other anymore. Still, she was almost convinced that he didn't think she was the Princess anymore. The fact she was born the day of the Dark Curse was just a coincidence.

And finally, after this speech that only lasted for a little while, she was free. She could actually go join her family.

She didn't waste any time to get ready in order to get out of the castle. She just couldn't wait to surprise her family with her presence and spend a little bit of time with them. She locked herself in her room and changed her gown to put on something less formal, choosing a light blue dress that was reminding her of the color of Killian's eyes.

Her smile never wavering, she was about to leave her room when she heard three knocks on her door. Her grin disappeared all at once as she was wondering what the hell was going on again, scared that her plans would fall apart and that the Queen needed her after all, and she anxiously asked the person standing behind the wooden door to come in.

However, it wasn't the Queen who appeared before her, but Kate and her familiar grin. She was smiling brightly and Emma relaxed, realizing that nothing bad seemed to be going on in the castle. "Do you have plans?" Her friend asked, noting her change of clothes.

Emma bit her lower lip, quickly thinking about what to say. It was obvious that she couldn't admit that she had people to meet. She'd told her friend that she didn't have any family or friends, and if Kate knew about the fact that she had someone waiting for her outside, she would ask her thousands of questions and Emma didn't want to have to lie even more. She was tired of having to hide the truth all the time.

So she took the decision to avoid the question, and she said with a nonchalant shrug. "I just wanted to take a walk outside of the city. I need to find a bit of quiet." She added with a smile to try and seem more convincing.

"Would you fancy an afternoon in town instead?" Kate offered kindly."I was talking with Chiara, I know that you two know each other quite well, and she told me that she had her afternoon free as well. She was looking for someone to show her around the city, since she's from another village, and I offered my help. I know you didn't have much time to visit since you came here because you've been pretty busy as well. Would you care to join us?"

Knowing that she didn't have much time to think about this offer, Emma still took a second before answering. She was so damn impatient to go join her boyfriend and son, and she wouldn't have traded this opportunity for the world, but at the same time, her friend's suggestion seemed pretty appealing. Not because she was choosing between these two parts of her life, since in that case Killian and Henry would have won every time, but because actually knowing the city she was working in was certainly going to be useful later on.

And again, a true friendship was emerging between her and Chiara, and her and Kate. Having friends in the castle, people she could trust even if she couldn't tell them everything about her, was also an opportunity she maybe had to take. But by choosing this solution, she was feeling like she was abandoning her family. She wavered, not knowing what to do. And it's when Kate smiled warmly at her that she finally decided.

This visit was only going to take a few moments, and she still had the entire afternoon to spend with Killian and Henry afterwards. She knew she needed to know where she was working now, and having her friend showing her around was definitely a good thing, so she grinned back and said. "Of course, I'd loved to. I'm curious about this town. Thanks for the offer."

Kate smiled happily and she gestured for Emma to follow her downstairs. Despite knowing that she wasn't abandoning her boys by taking this decision, Emma couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. She just couldn't wait to go join her family, but this moment was also important, and she didn't have to choose, she told herself, she had enough time to do both. She could still have everything. Killian and Henry would understand. They would want her to spend time with her new friends. She'd never really had any friends aside from Killian, and having people she could count on outside of her family was fairly new to her. Exploring this new situation was incredibly appealing.

So she kept on smiling as she was joining Chiara in the hallway, ignoring her heart tightening and the doubts she had about her choice. To try and feel better, she mentally promised herself that she wouldn't stay with her friends for more than a couple of hours, and that she would leave to join Henry and Killian as soon as possible.

The three women left the castle then, following Kate to the bottom of the palace's stairs. Emma's two friends had already started a conversation while she was still lost in her thoughts, and she decided to include herself in it. Since she'd made this choice, she should as well enjoy it. She wanted to make the most of these few hours to try and know more about her colleagues and to visit the city. After that, as soon as she could, she would leave and join Henry and Killian. She would tell them everything she'd learned about the kingdom and advise them on which place to visit. They wouldn't be upset. Everything was going to be all right.

She knew deep down that she was simply trying to find excuses to reassure herself, but she needed to feel better or she wouldn't be able to enjoy her time with her new friends.

Kate changed the subject as they were crossing one of the biggest streets of the city. Dozens of people were surrounding them, some almost running, some taking their time, all of that in a loud, overwhelming din. Emma had never been used to this as she had only taken the smallest streets to cross the city, and this atmosphere was so unusual for her that she was looking all around her, trying to understand everything about her surroundings. She'd always lived in the countryside, and she was finding it crazy that so many people with different purposes could cross path in such a hurry to go to places she knew nothing about. "I know the city like the back of my hand." Her friend said. "I'm so happy to show you two around."

"Are you working with the Queen for a long time?" Chiara asked, looking up to stare at the incredibly tall houses around them.

"I've started when her previous assistant left, about two or three years before the curse was cast."

"What happened during all those years?" Emma asked then, curious to know more about the Dark Curse, because she knew about some rumors but had never had a confirmation about the stories she'd heard. "Can you remember anything? Did you have new identities, or were you just stuck in time?"

Kate frowned as she was recalling these bad memories "We were simply frozen. I can recall everything. We were aware of what was happening. We could not speak or move, all we could do was wait for someone to come and help us. But it happened eventually." She added in a softer tone.

"That's horrible." Chiara said with a little wince. "I'm sorry you had to live that"

"It's over now, it's all that matters." Kate answered with a smile to show them that their questions weren't upsetting her at all.

"Do you have any idea of what could have broken the curse?" Chiara continued, her eyes shinning with curiosity. "It's so weird. Twenty-eight years stuck in time, and just like that, everything starts again."

"Let's say that we have a theory in the castle." Kate answered mysteriously. "I'm going to talk to you about it because you're part of the staff, and you'll end up learning about it sooner or later, but we try not to talk too much about it outside the palace. Well." She continued when Emma and Chiara had nodded seriously. "We're pretty convinced that the only thing that could have broken the curse was a true love kiss."

It made Emma smile as she was recalling her son's words when the Dome had disappeared in the first place. He had been so sure that Killian and her were the reason for all of this to happen, and she'd found it adorable. Still, she didn't believe that it was a true love kiss that had made the Dome disappear. She thought that perhaps all of this had something to do with the Princess, since she was supposed to be the Savior, but not with true love. This was too much.

True love was the rarest magic of all. If she was sure that Killian and her had it, what she was feeling for him seemed surreal sometimes because of how powerful it was, and she couldn't believe that many people shared the same relationship they did. She knew she was lucky, to have found her soulmate and best friend, the man with whom she wanted to spend the rest of her life. The only other true love couple she knew was Snow and David, and their true love kiss was he only one she'd ever heard of. It was rare, almost impossible. And it would have been crazy if the Dome had disappeared thanks to this kind of magic.

"Why are you smiling, Leia?" Chiara asked, surprised by her reaction.

"Because this true love kiss thing sounds a bit like it's coming right from a children book" Emma chuckled

"You don't believe in all of this?" Her friend said, her eyes widened in disbelief.

"I do. The King and the Queen share true love, after all. I can't deny that. But a true love kiss seems too rare for it to have happened a second time." Emma shrugged.

"Well, I think it would be phenomenal if that was what really happened." Chiara continued then. "So I want to believe it did. But is the Princess the only one who could have broken the curse with that kind of magic, Kate?"

"We don't really know." Their friend answered. "We don't know much about how this magic truly works. But if you ask me, or everyone at the castle, it has to have something to do with the Lost Princess. She's supposed to be the Savior, and combined with a true love kiss, the Dome couldn't have resisted her magic. Nothing could have."

"So everyone really is convinced that she is around here, huh?' Emma asked.

"We are. But the reality could be different. I just hope that we are right." Kate sighed slightly. "I've seen the Queen pregnant and I've seen how in love her and the King were with their daughter even before she was born. They really deserve to find their baby. She'll be happy with them, because they already adore her. She probably doesn't know that they are looking for her and that she's the Princess, though, and I'm afraid that it will take time."

"We'll find her sooner or later." Chiara said then, ever the optimist. "There is no other choice."

It made Kate and Emma smile. In some way, Chiara was reminding them of Snow a little bit, with her big speeches about hope and her optimistic way of seeing the world. It was truly a pleasure to spend time with such a warm, sincere girl, and Emma suddenly felt very grateful that she'd met her and Kate. They genuinely seemed to like spending time with her too, and she was feeling like their friendship would continue for whatever time she had left at the castle.

Kate didn't give them the time to talk more about the Princess or the Dome. Still walking, they arrived in a small square where a street performance was playing. A little group of people had gathered around two young artists doing acrobatic moves under the amazed looks of their audience. The three friends joined the others to cheer and laugh, until Kate gestured for them to start walking again.

"What I mostly want to show you today is the market. It's spreading on a good part of main street, and you can find absolutely everything there. It's pretty impressive, and definitely something you have to see at least once."

She led them to the center of the city, and they dived into the happy, excited atmosphere going on around them. There were people moving everywhere, sellers yelling for clients, friends greeting each other, everything crackling with the enthusiasm that they were finally free after almost three decades frozen in time. Colors, smells of food and voices were surrounding them everywhere, and all their senses were enhanced to try and take in everything that was around them.

Despite everyone looking so happy and carefree around her, hard memories of her thefts committed with Killian were coming back to Emma in waves, because of the place reminding her so much of the one she had gone to in her former region. It had been different then, less joyful and more desperate, but it was still a reminder and it was painful. She just would have wanted to erase these thefts and this murder, to come back in time and change the course of her life, but she knew she couldn't and her past was catching up with her yet another time.

She tried to ignore her feelings, but she hadn't forgotten anything and she would probably never stop beating herself up for what she'd done. Everything was coming back to her in flashes. The way she'd run, first when she'd stolen the food, then the bracelet. The disgusting sound the sword had made while sinking into the guard's body and the life coming out of him in a dark red puddle, still haunting her dreams months after the facts.

But she took a deep breath and allowed herself to think about something else. So much had changed since then, it was over, in the past. It was a horrible mistake she'd made, and she was trying to redeem herself for it every day. But after almost starving to death, they had found a peaceful life. She was working in a castle, they weren't lacking anything anymore and she was surrounded by good people. Her life had taken an insane turn, but she was still trying to forgive herself for her actions.

She just had to remember that this moment wasn't defining her, and that she wasn't a bad person, just someone who had made mistakes.

Forcing herself to think about something else, she focused back on her surroundings and decided to enjoy her moments in the city instead of wallowing in the pain of the past. She noticed then how many people seemed to know Kate in the market. She was accompanying the Queen for years after all, and they all seemed to like her, telling sweet greetings and talking warmly, asking about the couple and the decision to start looking for the Princess.

Always smiling, Kate introduced Chiara and Emma, and their interlocutors immediately recognized her as Leia, kindly congratulating her for her new job and asking how she liked it at the castle. It was surprising and somewhat overwhelming, to see people she didn't even know be that nice to her. For her entire life, strangers had only seen her as a beggar or as a thief, judging or pitying her. But not anymore, because she'd allowed her life to change completely.

So, while gladly answering these people, she thought about Calvin and about how he would regret his actions and the way he'd treated her for years if he could see her now. He would probably pass out knowing that she was working in a palace, and was accepted by everyone there. And this thought finally completely brought her good mood back, as she was realizing how far she'd come. Despite the mistakes she'd made along the way, she could be proud, because she'd turned her life upside down and she'd survived after everything she'd been through.

Since Kate was known by most of the citizens in town, the sellers in the market gladly offered them to look at the jewels spread on their stalls, to admire their animals or to taste their products. It was crazy, to see all these people who would previously have been suspicious of her because of her reputation in her former region, be so kind to her. And this gave her the opportunity to eat things that she'd never had the chance to taste before given how expensive they were, making her smile as she was realizing how lucky she was.

She accepted everything the sellers offered her and marveled at how good it was. She was depriving herself for weeks now, spending most of her time being hungry, but since she wasn't with the couple and didn't have to worry about if Killian and Henry would have enough food for the both of them, she finally allowed herself to relieve her hunger. Her friends didn't pay attention to the fact that it was probably the first time they were seeing her eat, too focused on experiencing new things themselves, and it's happy and wonderfully satiated that she left the market.

During the entire time, Emma, Kate and Chiara didn't stop talking once. Even if she already knew quite a bit about Chiara from their time spent together, her friend talked about her life at the farm with her parents, about how, despite being a lot in the household, they were all very close. She told them how hard it had been to leave the family home to settle with her little sister, but that she had needed to move out, in order to help her parents financially.

She also talked about her little sister, Jane, who was so proud that she had got a job at the castle. Jane was still working at the farm, and between both of their wages, they didn't have to worry about money anymore, and could help their parents who weren't living very far from them. The story of how close their family was reminded Emma of the bound she was sharing with Killian and Henry and she smiled. In no time at all, she would be back in their arms again.

She also learned a lot about Kate during these moments together. The Queen's assistant told her new friends about how she was going to turn forty soon, and had never thought that she would be where she was now. She explained that she was the daughter of two nomads, a couple who had lived in a caravan and had traveled from villages to bigger towns to perform shows, like the one they'd witnessed earlier that same day. With some nostalgia shining deep in her eyes, she told them that she'd seen the entirety of the Enchanted Forest during her childhood, but that despite being very close to her parents, she'd always wanted to find somewhere she could move in permanently.

She'd searched for her home for a while, and she'd joined a group of musicians that she'd met along the way. But they were moving all the time as well, and even though she was loving her job back then, she still really wanted a place to stay. By coincidence, she had been in the Lost Kingdom when the Queen had told the citizens the news about needing a new assistant. She had no experience, exactly like Emma when she'd gone to the interview, and had just thought that it was worth a try. And at her greatest surprise, she'd actually made it.

Things had turned badly when, as she was living her dream, she had found herself stuck in time along with her employers, but she told her friends that despite these unfortunate events, she wasn't regretting anything. Working with the Queen was a dream coming true, and even if her past nomadic life was making her nostalgic sometimes, she told them she knew she'd made the right choice.

She'd stayed in touch with her parents until they'd both died, a few years before she had started to work at the castle. And she was still seeing the group of musicians she'd traveled with for years, describing them as her family. "It's like I have three different homes." She said with a smile. "My parents, the musicians, and finally the royal couple."

Emma listened to the both of them intently, touched by their stories and by how much they trusted her for telling her all that, but she stayed discreet herself and her new friends didn't ask questions. She didn't want to lie more than necessary to these women who had been so honest with her, so she just stuck with the story she'd given to the couple, and that she now knew by heart.

Leia was an orphan who had been adopted as a baby, but her parents had eventually died. She'd worked for her entire life and had decided that she wanted to change the course of things. Aside from that, she didn't say much and listened more than she talked, just not wanting to invent more things and feel even more guilty. And it's in a very good mood that they came back to the castle.

She'd stayed with her friends a little bit longer than she'd planned to, but it wasn't too bad, she thought. The sun was still high in the sky, she had the entire afternoon to spend with her boys and would also have her day off the next day. But now, even if she didn't regret her decision to come with Kate and Chiara because the bound that had appeared between the three of them during the brief time they had spent together was pleasing her a lot, she couldn't wait to finally go join her family.

So when Kate offered to extend their walk and go to the gardens, she kindly declined the suggestion. "I'm still going to take that walk outside the city, if you don't mind. I'd like to go say hi to the farmers I was working with before I came here. But I'll be back for dinner, don't worry." She added, knowing that she had to be back at the castle to spend supper with the couple, and pretend that she was going to sleep in her bedroom there.

"Of course." Kate smiled, not looking upset at all. "Have fun!"

Emma just grinned as an answer, and she waved at her friends as they were parting, them going back to the gardens, her walking to the harbor. The smile on her face couldn't seem to leave her. The trust the royal couple had in her, all these compliments she was receiving, these new friendships coming to life… She couldn't believe how much her life had changed. And this new existence was leading to pretty pleasant surprises.

Still, now, she just wanted to get to what was truly important. Her family.


	18. Chapter 18

Emma walked to the Jolly Roger even faster than usual. She felt transported with joy to finally be able to have Killian and Henry back for almost two whole days. She silently prayed for them to be on the ship, scared that they'd gone for a stroll in the closest village or something, because she wanted to surprise them with her presence. They really had no idea that she was coming, and she just couldn't wait to see their faces when they would see her back home so soon.

It's in a very good mood that she reached the harbor.

She looked up, noting that no one was on deck. That wasn't surprising as it was the middle of the afternoon, and her son and boyfriend weren't expecting her. They were probably in one of the rooms, spending time together, and she silently walked up the boarding ramp, trying not to make any noise so they wouldn't guess that she was there.

She decided to head for Henry's bedroom first, and she smiled when she realized that she'd chosen right. If she could refer to what she was hearing, they were both having fun, too. She could hear her little boy's laughter echoing against the walls, and at the teasing voice her boyfriend was using to talk, they were most obviously playing together. Her smile widened as she was quietly moving forward. Killian really was the best father Henry could ever have wished for, and she couldn't have been prouder of her perfect little family.

She wanted to announce her presence right away, but what she discovered when she entered the room made her smile so big she couldn't do anything but look at the two most important people of her life in silence. What she was witnessing was adorable, and she just wanted to watch them be a father and a son, because it was making her so happy. So, discreetly and without making any noise, she leaned against the door frame and her hand came to rest against her heart as she was so tenderized by the sight in front of her.

Killian and Henry were both sitting at the table of the room. Her son was settled on his father's lap, and they were in the middle of a tickle fight that was making the little boy giggle uncontrollably. He suddenly surrendered and tried to pull away to escape what was making him laugh so hard, but even though he was asking for his dad to stop, he was very obviously having the time of his life. And the smile that was spreading on Killian's face was telling all about how important it was for him to spend time with his son, too.

Finally, after a few more seconds, they both calmed down enough to be able to breathe again. The little boy giggled one last time, then suddenly leaned toward his father to wrap his arms around his neck and hug him. Killian pressed a kiss into his hair, the gesture so protective Emma sighed slightly in happiness, and they didn't move for another few seconds, just enjoying the quiet moment.

Too lost in their little world, they didn't notice her presence in the room right away. It wasn't bothering her at all, as she would have spent hours just looking at them. Seeing them so close was making her heart swell in happiness. Henry and Killian had always gotten along so well, and their relationship was only a reminder that blood wasn't making family, love was. Her son had chosen Killian to be his father, her boyfriend truly loved him like a son, and she couldn't have been happier about it. The little boy was happy with him by his side, he was the best man he could ever have hoped for as a role model. And she was so damn proud of the both of them.

The moment was however broken when Henry finally noticed that someone was watching them, and turned his head to meet her gaze. She saw his eyes widening as he was realizing that it was her standing in the room, and she smiled, winking at him and amused by his reaction. Killian still hadn't noted her presence though, and he seemed surprised by their son's behavior, opening his mouth to ask Henry what was going on.

But he didn't have the time to say anything. Their little boy jumped from his lap to run toward her as he was finally grasping the reality of the situation, and he yelled "Mom!" as a greeting, a huge smile spread on his face. She crouched and opened her arms wide to welcome him into her embrace, and he came to snuggle against her, his face buried in the crook of her neck as he was giggling in happiness.

"Hey, kiddo." She just said, stroking his back in a protective gesture and her smile never wavering as she was finally back home.

It wasn't long before Killian joined them. She felt him move to approach them, and she looked up, grinning at him and seeing at his own smile how incredibly happy he was that she was there. It was his turn to kneel and he wrapped his arms around the both of them, Henry moving a little to enjoy both his parents' embrace. And they stayed like that for a while, not saying anything, just hugging one another with the wonderful feeling that nothing had changed after all and that they were still as strong as ever.

After a few minutes, Killian leaned to press a kiss on her cheek, then a few little pecks on her lips, his hand playing with her hair as if he never wanted to let go of her ever again. He buried his face in her neck to breathe her in, what made their son laugh slightly, happy to see once again how much his parents loved each other.

It's Killian who was the first to start talking, in a whisper as if he were scared to break the moment they were sharing. "For how long have you been here?"

"Not that long." She sighed in pure bliss, still hugging her two boys close to her heart. "I've just arrived. I wanted to surprise you, but I just couldn't help but watch you instead. You were too adorable."

"You have the afternoon off?" Henry asked, a huge smile on his face and his eyes shinning with the hope that she was actually there for longer than usual.

"Better than that, kid." She answered with a raise of her eyebrows that made him laugh once again. "The Queen told me about this yesterday, but I wanted to surprise you both. I have two days off." She said then, and Henry squeaked in excitement while Killian was dropping another kiss to her forehead as a tender answer to her statement.

She chuckled against him, her heart pounding so fast in her chest at how damn glad she was to finally be back where she belonged. Despite the luxury life she was leading at the castle, and despite how nice everyone was with her there, true happiness was here, in the small room of a ship with her son and partner by her side. She had no doubts about that and she just would have wanted to stop time and stay where she was now forever.

After a while, they finally moved again. Henry and Killian stood up, and her boyfriend reached for her hand to help her do the same, his familiar chivalry making her roll her eyes and laugh all at the same time. She was feeling like everything was back to normal again. They were together and hugging, laughing, teasing one another, as the family they were, and her heart felt fit to burst because she was home, finally.

Father and son brought her to the bed of the room, and they settled on it, leaning against the wall behind them. Killian wrapped his arm around her waist and she rested her head against his strong shoulder, as Henry was snuggling next to her and she was pulling him close as well. And all while the tenderness of the moment seemed to be crackling in the air around them, she told them all about the reason why the Queen had decided to give her two days off out of the blue, and how damn glad she was to be by their side again.

She wavered for a second before continuing her tale, though. She wanted to tell them that she'd gone to town with her new friends, but at the same time, she was scared to upset them a bit. She however knew that honesty had always had a very important place in their family, and she didn't want to hide this from them. "I've been free since the start of the afternoon, actually." She said then, looking at them out of the corner of her eyes to see their reactions. "I wanted to come here sooner, but Kate and Chiara offered to show me around town. I accepted because I thought it would be a good idea to know the city a bit better now that I'm working at the castle."

Henry didn't seem that disturbed by the news, he just smiled and opened his mouth to ask her what she'd done with her friends, but he stopped and frowned when he noted Killian's reaction. Emma bit her lower lips as she was watching her boyfriend, worried about his expression that had suddenly turned anxious. He seemed startled, and she pulled away just a little bit to look at him, afraid that he was angry at her for taking this decision.

But he didn't seem mad at all. Actually, if she could refer to her instincts and she was pretty sure she was right, he was looking more sad and hurt than anything. It was worse than anger, and she felt a wave of guilt taking over her. She had never wanted to cause him pain, and she hated herself for making him feel that way. She would have done anything for him to regain his smile again.

"Killian, are you okay?" Henry asked, blinking at his father in concern.

"Aye, I'm fine, lad. Don't worry." He tried to smile but it didn't reach his eyes, and Emma started to talk then, as if trying to justify herself.

"I'm so sorry, babe. I couldn't refuse. I was scared that they would start asking questions if I told them that I had plans. And I thought that maybe it was a good idea to know the city, so I could also tell you which places are worth visiting. Gods, I'm sorry if I've hurt you. You're both the most important people in my life and it will never, ever change. Please, forgive me."

"Hey, Emma, I'm not mad. There is nothing to forgive" He said immediately, all disappointment fading away from his face as he was kissing her hair. Love was all that was left in his gestures, and she sighed slightly against him, relieved that everything seemed to be fine between them. "I will never be angry at you for wanting to spend time with your new friends. I'm so happy that you have people you can trust in this castle. I'm just a wee bit disappointed because I realize that we could have had more time together, but we still have two days ahead of us, don't we? Everything's fine, love. You have nothing to be sorry for."

"I love you both." She whispered, as if wanting to redeem herself despite his comforting words. "So much. You'll always come first in my heart, you know that, right?"

"Of course we do, my Swan. And you'll always be the most important person to us. We love you, too." He said, kissing her cheek this time and a small smile appearing on his lips again.

Incredibly relieved that things seemed okay again, she chose to let go of her guilt to fully enjoy her time with her family. Changing the subject to talk about more joyful things, they stayed in the same position on Henry's bed for a while, just talking, joking and laughing, simply being a normal family. Emma was feeling like she finally had them back, for real. Like nothing at all had changed and everything was all right again in the universe.

The hours passed without them noticing it as they were just enjoying the fact that they were finally reunited again. Henry didn't let go of her for a second and Killian regularly dropped little kisses to her forehead, making her feel so loved ans safe. It's only when it was time for her to leave the ship and go back to the castle for dinner that she realized how much time had actually passed since she'd arrived. Having to walk away was feeling so unfair to her since she knew that she wouldn't even eat anything back at the palace, but she needed to play her part and go, and she didn't have a choice. She knew that all too well.

"I'll be home soon." She promised them as they were saying goodbye on deck. Henry hugged her tight as she was kissing the crown of his head, and Killian pressed a long, passionate kiss on her lips as if they were leaving each other forever. She could still taste him on her mouth when she arrived at the castle gates.

Half of her mind was still with Killian and Henry as she sat at the table with Snow, David and Kate. She just couldn't wait to go back to them, and her leg was impatiently bouncing up and down under the table, just wanting for the dinner to finally be over. She barely heard the couple asking her and Kate what they'd done during the day, and she let her friend tell them about their visit to the city, wincing discreetly when she stated that they'd parted ways afterwards, because she knew that the couple was going to ask her questions about her decision to leave on her own, now.

So when the King and Queen asked her about her walk outside of town, she only vaguely answered them, not wanting to lie more than necessary. Luckily, they seemed happy with her explanations, and she pretended to be especially tired to be allowed to go back to her room earlier than usual. And in the span of barely an hour, she was back with those she loved.

Their night happened in a kind of surreal happiness, as she was finally able to truly be with them. After Henry fell asleep, Killian led her to their room, repeating this routine that had been born out of their new situation. Their moment was especially tender that night, as they both just held onto each other and murmured their love over and over again until she was sure that she was going to lose her mind at how damn good he was feeling.

She allowed herself to fall asleep that night, because she knew she still had an entire day to spend with her family after that. So she let Killian stroke her hair until she fell into her dreams, and she woke up when it was time to leave again, feeling incredibly complete in the arms of the man she loved.

She had to get to the castle for breakfast, but came back home soon as she had the whole day to herself, just having to go back to the Queen at night to have dinner with the couple again. It was a beautiful, sunny day, with bees buzzing in the bushes and birds chirping in the trees, and they all decided to go for a walk in the forest together. They tried to avoid crowded places, not only because they still wanted to stay discreet so no one would recognize her as being the Princess' assistant, but also because being with other people wasn't appealing to them on that moment. They just wanted to be together, the three of them. It was all they needed.

They ended up finding a small stream running in between the trees, and they sat on its edge, dipping their feet into the cold water and kindly splashing one another, laughing until their bellies hurt. Emma wasn't sure she had already been this happy. They were making her a little bit happier every day, and she loved them so damn much she wished she could have frozen time and stayed in this moment forever.

But the hours passed quickly, the moments slipping through her fingers, and soon it was already time to come back to the castle again. Leaving them was even harder that time, because she had felt like she had finally found them again, and she had to walk away yet another time. Fighting against the tears, she had to remind herself that she was doing this for them, so they could live their dream all together one day, but it wasn't making things any easier. She missed them, so much, and she knew they were suffering from her absence too. But it was just for a little while. And then they would finally be together again.

She went back to the castle reluctantly that night, feeling like her heart was breaking. And to try and not start sobbing, she promised herself that after all of this, she would never accept for the three of them to be separated ever again.

* * *

"Call the first one in"

David's order banged in the air, all his usual warmth gone to only leave place to tension and anxiety. The couple's nervousness seemed to be crackling around them, making the atmosphere thick. It was obvious that the King and Queen were stressed and scared, and there was a really good reason for it. The search for the Lost Princess was starting right now. They were going to meet many women that day. One of those could be their daughter, but they would surely have to face dozens of impostors and get hurt a little bit more every time before finding her. This was going to be hard, and everyone in the room knew it.

Emma shared a worried glance with Kate, not really knowing what to do to comfort their employers. Her friend approached the Queen then, and she gently placed her hand on her shoulder in a soothing gesture. Snow smiled slightly, and rested her own hand over Kate's for a few seconds, as if to quietly thank her for her support, the initiative seeming to actually reassure her.

Emma wavered for a second, a bit uncomfortable about the situation. She was feeling like David needed to be comforted too, but she didn't really know what to do. She knew the Queen much better than she knew her husband, and she didn't want to do or say something she shouldn't have, even if it was coming from a good place. But she ended up deciding to act anyway, because she just wanted to show how much she supported the both of them. So she stepped forward, leaned toward the King and whispered kindly so he was the only one to hear.

"I'm sure that everything is going to be all right. And soon, the Princess will be back and you'll be a family again."

He looked up at her and Emma swallowed hardly, wondering for a second if she'd been right to say those things. Maybe it wasn't her place, and she didn't want to offend anyone. But a smile spread on his lips, and she relaxed completely, finally realizing that she'd done good. He took her hand and briefly squeezed it, saying in a low, grateful voice.

"Thank you so much for saying this, Leia. It truly means a lot."

She smiled back, relieved that she'd managed to reassure him, even if it was just a little bit. She just wanted the both of them to feel better. He let go of her after an instant and she stepped back, standing up behind him and ready to support the couple in what was awaiting for them. They were going to need her presence more than ever.

They pretty much already all knew that the first women who were going to come were most probably going to be impostors. It was almost impossible for the Princess to be there so soon, first because she maybe hadn't heard about the search yet, and second because if she had, she was probably thinking that she wasn't the couple's daughter and going to the castle was useless.

Putting herself in her shoes, it wasn't hard for Emma to understand this possibility. She had herself been born the day of the Dark Curse, Henry had told her that she was the Lost Princess for years, and yet she'd never wanted to believe him. Because she was an orphan, who had simply managed to survive. And she truly hoped that their daughter was a bit more optimistic than her, and that she was going to give the couple a chance. She just wanted for their family to be reunited again, because they deserved this more than anyone.

But this was surely going to be incredibly painful to see dozens, maybe hundreds of girls coming to the castle and trying to pretend that they were the Princess simply to get money. They didn't care about hurting the couple, and it was going to waste their time as well. While these women would try to convince Snow and David that they were the Lost Princess and deserved this gold, their real daughter would stay out there, maybe even starving in the streets. But they just needed to be patient. Everything was going to be right in the world again soon, Emma was so convinced of it.

The Common Room's gates suddenly opened wide, and everything went silent around them. Everyone seemed to stop breathing as they were watching the first woman approaching them. The King and Queen were sitting on comfortable, big chairs, but they didn't stand up to welcome the first candidate, their gazes hardening at her sight.

She was walking in an assured way, chin up and a little smirk on her face, not looking impressed at all by all these people watching her, but actually seeming to like the attention. She had long red hair, brown eyes, and a look of arrogance was painted on her face. She could have been pretty if this wasn't for her attitude. She walked to them and bowed as a greeting, but the gesture that should have been filled with respect looked almost like a mockery as she was doing it. Emma felt David stiffening next to her, and she could guess the disappointed spark that was shinning in the Queen's eyes.

None of them needed anymore time to know that this girl wasn't the Princess.

Someone who had been abandoned maybe more than once in her life, would never have stood there with this smirk dancing on her lips. She would have been hopeful that maybe she really was the couple's daughter, or she would have looked down, unsure that she was meant to be there. She wouldn't have been staring at the couple like she knew she was leading them into a trap, and was happy about it.

David didn't welcome her and didn't give her the time to say anything, knowing all too well that she was just a liar trying to take advantage of them. "Name?"

His behavior seemed to unsettle the woman for a second, but she regained her arrogant expression quite quickly. Her smile even widened as she was smoothing her dress. It was a beautiful gown, probably coming from a very expensive shop, and Emma wondered why she was bothering to come to the palace since it was obvious that she already had money. Maybe she just liked hurting people. Whatever her reasons were, Emma was already despising her.

"Justina." She said in a clear voice. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Justina?" David repeated, sighing deeply and looking more annoyed than actually mad, now. "You're not our daughter."

"But..." She tried to protest, but she got interrupted again, by the Queen this time.

"No. We know. Stop wasting our time. Call the next one in." She said then, grabbing her husband's hand as if to reassure herself.

The girl opened her mouth, as if to say something, but no sound came out. She had obviously not expected this to happen, she probably had an entire story that she'd built to convince them that she was their long lost daughter. But her attitude and her name had been enough. It was over for her. She'd lied and she'd lost, and it was only fair.

The couple was so sad that it was making the air thick. They all knew that this encounter was probably going to repeat itself hundreds of times for the next few weeks. Despite how disappointed everyone looked, Emma couldn't help but feel glad that this girl had been put back in her place. That was all that she deserved for trying to hurt the couple.

As soon as she left, looking down at her feet this time, silence fell on the room. Heavy, suffocating. It was all worth it since it was to find the Princess, but it was still going to be painful and they were all realizing now just how strong they would have to be.

The few weeks that were coming were going to be hard.

* * *

And time went by so fast, Emma working at the castle and missing her family more and more every day, all while getting closer to her friends at the palace and feeling like she could actually trust them. Two weeks had already passed since they'd started to meet the women claiming to be the Princess, and Emma was slowly getting used to her new life. Still, she couldn't wait to finally be reunited with her boys again.

Summer was more than well settled now, and the weather was warm and damp, making wearing long dresses almost a torture. Most of the time, Emma was suffering from the heat so much that she just wanted to fill the bathtub next to her room with cold water, dive into it and stay there for hours.

The search to find the Princess was still going, but the women coming to the castle were getting rare now. Most of the impostors had understood that they wouldn't manage to fool the couple, but some were persisting, trying to guess the Princess' name and to give this proof that seemed so important to reach the life they all wanted so much.

The first few days after the search had begun had been more than busy. Painful, too. Dozens of young women had come to meet them, most of them looking arrogant and full of themselves, even though some had seemed surprisingly okay considering the situation. Still, they had only met a few who had actually been born the day of the Curse and were honestly there to verify that they weren't the Princess after all.

Emma could tell when people were lying, always, but she didn't need what Henry called her superpower to tell the liars from the honest ones. Everyone at the castle could recognize the sincere girls, now. They would often look down as they were approaching, as if they were embarrassed to be there in this castle and to maybe give false hope to the couple yet another time. They would also apologize for coming most of the time, and would say their name in a low voice, obviously scared to hurt the King and the Queen. They would all seem so humble and lovely, and the couple would often take time to talk a little bit with them instead of sending them away like the other ones.

Against all odds, it wasn't the liars that were hurting the couple the most, maybe because they had expected that they would have to face these situations when they'd announced the start of the search for their daughter. No, what was making tears appear in their eyes were the honest girls just wanting to know the truth. Emma could see the spark of hope fading away in their eyes each time the woman facing them would give them the wrong name, and if her and Kate were always there to comfort them afterwards, it wasn't enough anymore. Time was passing and the Princess still wasn't showing up. And, slowly, the couple was beginning to lose hope, even though they would never say it out loud.

Emma would have wanted to do so much more for them. But for a few days now, the women coming to the castle were getting even rarer than before. That day, only two had been there to meet them. It was as if everyone had given up, aside from the couple.

When Kate and Emma would talk about the situation with Snow, she would always tell them that they needed to stay hopeful, even if her eyes weren't shining with the same spark anymore when she would say those things. She would repeat the same words over and over again, as if to convince herself that her daughter was going to come back home one day. And Emma would have wanted to believe her, but things weren't going so well and she just wished they could have stopped suffering because they didn't deserve this.

But it was all worth it if they really found their daughter at the end of the day. And she prayed every night that the universe was fair and that they would eventually be reunited again.

Thinking about all of what was going on in her life, Emma wiped off a drop of sweat that was rolling down her temple, sighing slightly. The sun was setting in the sky, her surroundings getting darker, and yet it was still so hot she was feeling like she couldn't breathe. She could tell that a storm was coming, too. The birds had grown quiet and a warm wind was blowing into the trees, making the forest look almost threatening around her.

She fastened her pace, eager to reach the harbor. The same basket of food she was bringing to her family ever night was stuck in the crook of her elbow, and she couldn't believe she was doing all of this for more than a month now, sneaking out of the castle and coming back before dawn. She was exhausted and felt like she could barely stand sometimes, but it was all worth it. Soon, everything was going to be all right again.

She got dizzy all of the sudden, and blinked a few times, trying not to fall over. She grabbed the trunk of the closest tree in order to keep her balance, everything spinning around her. It wasn't unusual for her to suddenly feel sick lately, and it wasn't all because of the stifling heat. She was still barely eating, and she was beginning to feel the consequences of this decision. She'd been used not to eat much for so long, but it'd been weeks since she'd had a real meal and she seemed to be feeling a bit weaker every day.

She was aware that she needed to find a solution to be able to eat normally as soon as possible, so she wouldn't risk passing out in the middle of an appointment with the royal couple, or worse, while she was with Killian. If the couple would ask questions she could easily avoid, her boyfriend would notice right away that something was off with her. She still couldn't understand how he hadn't noticed anything yet, but it was probably because they were too busy worshiping each other every night to really pay attention to anything else. But she needed to build another plan, and fast, or she would get very sick, and this couldn't happen.

Still holding the tree and taking some deep breaths, she looked down at the basket for a while, not knowing if she had to eat something there in order not to faint. But she shook her head, suddenly feeling better, and decided that she preferred to share her meal with her boys. She could wait for a little bit longer. She was fine, and she would get through this. She always did.

She reached the Jolly Roger quite quickly. As always, Killian was awaiting for her on deck, and as always, he greeted her with a strong embrace, so intense that he almost lifted her up from the ground. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his skin, just enjoying his touch now that they were back together again. It was as if they were scared that they would never see each other again every time. So they held onto each other and stayed like this for a long time, not wanting to let go.

They both knew that in barely a few hours they would have to part again, and they just wanted to make the most of their time together. So she moved and pressed her mouth against his, and the kissed and kissed for a long while, as if trying to make up for lost time. And then, following their routine, they walked to Henry's room so she could spend a few moments with her son, always too short but so damn precious.

She was aware of the huge impact her job had on her perfect little family. They were all loving one another so much, and if no one was never complaining because they knew that they needed this in order to live their dream someday, being separated was almost unbearable. They were all suffering in silence, their tight embraces at night not even managing to comfort them anymore, because they knew that they would have to part ways again way too soon.

She could feel her family's distress in her bones and it was breaking her heart. She knew how hurt they were at the way Henry was holding onto her at night, aware that when he would wake up the day after, she would already be gone. And she could also guess it at how tight Killian was holding her when they were together, like he was silently begging her not to go.

And their moments as a couple in the captain's quarters once their son was asleep were always so intense. Despite the hardships and the exhaustion, the passion between them was still there, stronger than ever. They would quietly tell each other how immense their love was every single time because it was making them feel like they could overcome anything together. And this night wasn't an exception.

It was already late when she arrived that evening, and Henry fell asleep quite quickly in their arms. They stayed there for a while, just watching their son sleep and silently wishing that everything could be just the way it had once been. They just wanted to be a family again. But their love was stronger than anything, and she damn well intended to show Killian just that. So, after they'd tucked the little boy into bed, she led him outside by the hand and they started kissing on deck under the starlight.

They didn't break their embrace once as they were moving to the captain's quarters. They were holding each other so tight she could hear his heartbeats, and she gasped against his lips when he wrapped his arms under her butt and lifted her up to sit her down on the cold table of the room. Her legs spread to let him come closer, as her hand was running through his hair and their tongues were dancing together, always in harmony.

Her dress and his clothes weren't long to land on the floor at their feet, and she grabbed his strong shoulders to keep him close, enjoying the familiar feeling of his perfect skin underneath her fingers. They kissed for a very long time, breathing into each other, until he moved to kneel in front of her, his mouth getting lower and lower on her naked stomach. She arched her back, trying to get as close as she could to him, her head tilted back and her lips parted as she was already feeling her desire grow inside her.

But against all odds, he suddenly stopped. She couldn't understand why he was breaking their moment so abruptly, and she let go of a frustrated grown, trying to encourage him to go on by cupping his head. But he didn't listen to her silent request and he stood up, still a bit breathless but looking at her intently. His fingers were drawing small circles on her ribs, right underneath her breast, pleasantly tickling her. Still, she would have preferred him to continue, and she couldn't grasp just why he was making her wait like that while he'd started so well. That was cruel, she thought, as she was finally opening her eyes to look at him.

"What the hell are you doing?" She whispered, trying to understand his strange behavior.

There was no teasing in his gaze, only questions and a bit of worry. She frowned, intrigued, her arms still wrapped tightly around him. He stared at her for a while and she guessed that what he was thinking about was probably serious, so she didn't push him to go any faster despite her desire to keep on going with their pretty enjoyable activities.

His eyes traveled down her body, and she shivered. She was starting to slowly grasp what was going on, and she silently hoped that she was wrong until he said in concern. "How comes you've lost weight?"

She let go of a little shaky sigh, blinking several times to try and find something to say.  _Damn it_. She knew this moment would come sooner than later, as she knew that she had to find another solution to bring food back home, but he hadn't chosen a very good time to notice her loss of weight. It was for the best, she knew it, because she couldn't keep on going that way. But having this sincere and profound conversation while sitting on this table and being completely naked and while all she wanted to do was to make love to him until she forgot who she was, was probably not a very good idea.

Still, she was aware that she didn't have a choice anymore. He always knew it when she was lying, perceptive as he was, and she didn't want to hide the truth from him anyway. But she also really didn't want to have this discussion with him right now. She then shrugged, trying to reassure him, and she said, running her tongue over her lips.

"I haven't."

"That's not what I'm seeing right now." He just countered, his fingers gently running along her visible ribs.

He didn't seem mad, but his brows were frowned and it was obvious that he wouldn't accept her not answering his questions. She let go of another little sigh, and she moved, choosing to use another method to make him forget about his new observations. Her hands caressed his neck and she approached her face from his, her mouth chasing his lips. He didn't fall for it, though. He gently pulled away, letting go of a little chuckle, and he kept his left arm wrapped around her as she was rolling her eyes in annoyance.

"I'm not an idiot, Swan." He said, looking slightly amused by her try. "I'm not going to forget my concerns because of a kiss."

"I don't think you're an idiot." She said in a charming tone. "You know that."

"Then why are you trying to make me believe that nothing is going on?"

"Because nothing is." She insisted with the horrible feeling that he wasn't going to let go until he had a clear answer.

"I don't think so, love." He shook his head slightly. "Or you wouldn't be losing so much weight while you're supposed to have more than enough to eat at the castle."

"I'm fine." She objected.

"You don't look like it, Swan. You look exhausted and pale, almost sick. What's going on?"

She tried something else then, not wanting to talk with him about the decision she'd made to keep them safe on that moment. They had time for that later. But for now, she really just wanted him. "I guess I might have lost weight, but it's probably because I'm walking a lot between here and the castle every day. It's no big deal."

"No, that's not it. You're barely eating at all when you're here."

"You're not seeing me eat because it's night when I arrive, babe." She said, feeling like he wasn't going to get convinced that easily, though. "I have everything I need at the castle."

"So you're trying to tell me that it's a coincidence if you're losing weight while you're bringing us tons of food every day, all while you have this habit of always taking care of everyone until you forget yourself?"

"I guess." She winced slightly, knowing all too well that he was slowly grasping what was going on.

"Swan." He simply said then, gently showing her that he was done beating around the bush.

She let go of another sigh, a sad one this time as she knew that her little plan was over and that she had to find another solution to keep bringing food home. She was also a bit worried about Killian's reaction. She knew that he wouldn't get mad at her, he was always so gentle, but she was mostly scared that he was going to blame himself for not noticing what was happening sooner. She knew that what she'd decided to do wasn't the best solution, but she had just wanted them to be safe, as always. And it really wasn't the right moment to have this conversation, but they had to talk about this. She was done lying and hiding things. He deserved to know.

"All right." She surrendered then, looking up at him with a little wince. "Would you promise me not to get mad, first?" She added, because she knew that he was going to get angry at himself and if he promised her that he would stay calm, maybe that would help. He always kept his promises and she just didn't want him to get hurt.

"Oh, darling." He frowned, holding her just a little bit tighter. "Just tell me what's going on, please."

"You didn't promise." She noted, as if to lighten the mood a little bit because he seemed so worried it was almost unbearable.

"Of course I promise, Emma. How could I ever be mad at you?" He said gently, and she stopped herself from answering that she wasn't scared of that, but of his reaction toward himself. "I think I've pretty much understood what's happening already." He added softly. "But I would like for you to tell me everything, aye?"

"Okay, then." She started in a low voice. "Let's say that I've taken a decision to be able to bring food to you and Henry without telling the couple that I have a family. Now, I know that it's going to sound dangerous and stupid, but it's the only way that I've found so you could eat without using any of our savings, because I just want to be able to live our dream as soon as possible. I miss you. I love my job, but I want to come back home."

"I miss you too, Swan." he said in a whisper. "But something's wrong, and I just want to know what it is."

"Well, I've kind of lied to the King and Queen so I was able to bring food here." She admitted then. "I said that I wasn't eating much and never on regular schedules. I told them that I wouldn't eat at dinner, so they allowed me to take what I wanted from the kitchens and bring it back to my room. But here is the thing. I can only take food for two people in that basket or they're going to find out that something's off. There's only enough for you and Henry in there. And if I start eating with them now, they're going to guess that I haven't told them the truth. They'll get suspicious. But I don't want to deprive you of anything either. So I'm pretty much stuck in this situation."

"So meanwhile, you're the one who's working your life away, who's walking miles to meet us every day, who's barely sleeping and is exhausted, and you're also the one who's starving herself? Exactly when did you think that it was a good solution, Emma?"

She'd been right before, he seemed so appalled by what she'd just told him. She bit her lower lip, staring at him as he was letting go of her to run his hand through his hair in a frustrated gesture that made her shiver. She could tell that he wasn't mad at her, despite his words. He was mostly angry at himself because he hadn't noticed what she'd decided to do. But it wasn't his fault, she thought, so she started to talk fast in order to show him that everything was okay.

"Killian, I'm so sorry. I didn't tell you anything because I didn't want you to worry. I just wanted to reach our goal as soon as possible, so we could live together again. But I'm fine. I'm still here."

"Can't you understand that I never want to see you sick as you were last time?" He exploded then, tears appearing in his eyes, and she knew he was talking about all those months ago when she'd been without a job, had gotten sick and had almost died. "Do you know how scared I was when I found you half-dead in our bed? I never want to have to live that ever again. You have to take care of yourself, bloody hell, Swan!"

"I'm sorry." She repeated again, incredibly worried by his reaction. He was usually so calm, the fact that he was screaming told just how horrified he was. "Please, don't get mad. Look, I'm here. I'm all right. You're not going to lose me, I won't let that happen, I promise."

"Hey." He said, all his gentleness back at once as he was noticing how concerned she was. He wrapped his arms around her again and pressed a kiss into her hair, silently telling her that they were okay. "I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at myself because I didn't see what was going on. I should have been able to protect you, even if I know that you can protect yourself. But I just want you to be healthy and happy, and it's killing me to realize that I've failed you. I'm the one who's sorry."

"You haven't failed me, or anyone, babe." She whispered against him, holding him close to her. "I was purposely hiding everything from you, because I knew it wasn't a good solution, but I didn't really have a choice. But I'm okay, I swear. I just wanted you to be safe."

"The thing is, I can take care of myself, love. But you have to make sure that you are okay, too. I don't want anything to happen to you, because I love you so much. Gods, I can't believe that I haven't noticed anything..."

"Don't blame yourself, please, I'm pretty good at hiding things." She said with a very small smile. "But we're fine. I promise things are going to get better now."

She felt him pulling her a little bit closer to his chest, but he didn't answer and he didn't smile back. She knew that he just needed to hold her for a bit, to feel her close and make sure that she was alright, but if she was being honest, the fact that they were still completely naked was deeply distracting. Now that he seemed a bit reassured, all she wanted to do was to resume their previous activities.

Deciding that doing just that would also prove him that she really was okay, she looked up and tilted her head to press a quick peck on his lips. He kissed her back and she took that as an encouragement, deepening their kiss and opening her mouth to find his tongue. But as they finally seemed to be starting their embrace again, he pulled away once more and she couldn't hold back a sigh of frustration.

"Could you promise me that you're going to take care of yourself, now?"

"Okay." She simply answered, her lips still brushing against his and just hoping that he would be content with this answer, but he continued.

"We can find a solution together. We'll figure something out. But for now, the most important is for you to feel better, all right?"

"Hmm." She just said absently.

"Come on, Swan. I just want a real answer." He insisted, pulling away from her as if to make her promise that she would change her habits, but he had a small smile on his face at her impatience.

"Don't blame me. You're incredibly distracting." She said then, what made him chuckle slightly as he seemed to feel a bit comforted by her teasing.

"So?" He asked again. "Will you swear that you're going to care about your own well-being, now?"

"What about our savings?" She asked, despite wanting to finish this conversation as soon as possible to be able to get what she wanted.

"We'll just have to wait a little bit longer before starting our dream. But we'll be okay."

"All right, then." She sighed, because she knew he wouldn't accept no for an answer.

"You didn't promise." He said, repeating her words from earlier, what made her roll her eyes because her desire was still growing strong and she just wanted to hold him.

"Okay! I Promise! Can you come here so I can kiss you now?"

"Not before I went to find you something to eat first." He stated with a little nod to stress his words, even if it was obvious that he wanted her too.

"You're impossible." she mumbled, folding her arms and making him chuckle again, because her reaction was truly proving to him that despite the situation, she was actually fine.

"I want you too, Swan, believe me. More than anything. But I also want you to be all right."

She didn't answer anything then, having something else than his plan in mind. She leaned to kiss his lips, gently at first, and he couldn't help be melt into her embrace as her hands were running up and down his back. He just couldn't resist her, and she smiled against his lips, before pulling away to look at him in the eyes. His pupils were dilated and he was staring at her like she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.

"There is something I want now, Killian, but believe me, it isn't food."

She didn't give him the time to say anything back. She let go of him for a second to jump on her feet, so quickly that he just turned to follow her, unable to stop her. She took advantage of his new position to push her hips against his, forcing him to lean against the table. And there, with a mischievous smile dancing on her lips, she knelt to take him into her mouth.

Too deep into his pleasure, he surrendered and accepted that everything could wait for a little while. What they were living was way too intense to break it.

Their moment was tender, this time. She knew deep down that Killian was going to keep his promise of making sure that she was eating, now. He was going to take care of her like never before, and she knew she wouldn't have a choice but to find another way to hide the truth from the couple. But she was also aware that her boyfriend was right. She needed to stay healthy, and she was actually relieved that she didn't have to hide things from him anymore.

She was truly understanding his reaction to what she'd admitted, too. If he'd been the one to starve himself, she would have acted the exact same way. He cared about her, he loved her more than anything, and she knew he just wanted her to be all right. So she got how worried he was. It didn't mean that she wasn't concerned, because all of this also meant that maybe they would have to wait to live their dream, while they missed each other so much already. But she needed to be healthy to live their life on the ocean, too. They couldn't be truly happy if she wasn't okay, and she knew she had to make sure that she wasn't getting sick, now. She wouldn't let anything happen to her, because she didn't want her family to get hurt.

On that moment, though, she couldn't think about any of this. She just brought him to his orgasm and her with him, because feeling his pleasure was too much for her. It was always like this between them, the harmony they shared too strong to be anything different. They stayed still, panting for a few seconds, then she stood up to catch his lips and start kissing him, wanting to taste him again because she just couldn't get enough of him.

But even if he was still shivering from the strength of his pleasure and even though she could tell that he just wanted to extend their moment for the rest of eternity, he pulled away. He smiled, his eyes shinning and his hair messy, and he placed one of her blond locks behind her ear, saying while dropping a little kiss to her nose.

"Before anything else, you still need to eat something."

"Seriously?" She huffed, and he gently took her hand to lead her to their bed and make her sit down next to him.

"I promise you that I want to keep on going, love. I want to kiss you until the world stops around us, and I want to make love to you until you forget your own name." He whispered against her, what made her heartbeats grow faster because damn, it was making things to her when he was talking like that. "But for that, you need to feel good."

"I'm feeling good with you." She just murmured, her mind a bit blurred by the desire his words were making arise in her.

"You'll feel even better after. I just want you to be okay."

She winced and crossed her arms, a bit frustrated by his decision. "Well, you're punishing yourself, Jones."

"I'm not, because I damn well intend to worship you like the goddess you are after you've eaten something. And I just can't wait, so let's do that quickly, aye?"

She just nodded, not finding anything else to say because she knew that he was right, and his promise of a later embrace was motivating her quite a bit. She stared at him as he was getting dressed to go fetch the basket of food she'd brought back from the castle, her heart pounding so fast she was sure he could hear it too. Coming back with a smile after a few minutes, he presented her with a mandarin and raised his eyebrows, waiting for her to accept his offer. Her stomach was rumbling loudly and she realized how right he'd been to insist on her eating something, now. She really needed this.

"You're wearing way too many clothes." She observed as she was eating her fruit, what made him chuckle slightly.

"I promise you that all of this will go away when you'll have finished, Swan. You know I can never resist you."

"I'm hurrying up in that case." She said, staring at him and finishing her small snack at once.

True to his words, he leaned toward her and licked the sweet taste of the fruit from her lips, what made her sigh against him. Everything was worth it if it was for him, and they picked up their embrace where they had left off, his mouth going down to kiss her breast, stomach and thighs until he reached her center and made her come in barely a few instants. Damn, he was good, she thought, her eyes closed and her back arched. And on that moment, all her worries were gone as she was just enjoying him, his loving touch and his tongue on her skin driving her into oblivion.

* * *

Emma was making her way through the darkness, walking back to the castle to get there before dawn. She was moving fast, chewing on her bottom lip in worry as she was thinking about what in the hell she could find to be able to take care of herself, feed her family and still hide the truth from the royal couple so they wouldn't get suspicious of her. She had no idea of what she could do, and it was deeply concerning her.

Killian and her had tried to find a solution together, but they'd had so little time to talk after their moment together, just falling asleep in each other's arms. He'd promised her that if they couldn't find something else, he would gladly share his part of food with her because he just wanted her to be okay. But she didn't want to deprive him and had refused this possibility, and even if he'd protested for quite some time, he'd ended up surrendering because he knew just how stubborn she could be. They'd then decided that if needed, they would use their savings to pay for their food. She knew that they had more than enough gold for that, but they still needed a lot of it to be able to live their dream some day. She had a good wage at the castle, but she knew that if they used what she was earning in order to eat, they would only leave in a very long time.

And Gods, she wasn't sure she could keep going for much longer without them. She loved her job, but not seeing her family was a true torture. She just wanted to be with them. They weren't complaining, they were being brave, but they were all horribly suffering. So she just wanted to find something else. She just wanted to feel complete again.

Luckily, walking was somewhat relaxing her and helping her to think about something. She searched and searched, trying to find a solution to be able to save money and eat at the same time. It was obvious that she couldn't steal more food from the kitchens herself, she had to ask someone for her basket every day and had no real access to any of the supplies, and she would get caught if she tried anything. She was exhausted and it took a long time for her to find something else. She nervously bit her nails, feeling a migraine blooming behind her eyes. And it's only minutes later that the obvious came to her, and she silently cursed herself, wondering how the hell she hadn't thought about it sooner.

She had a way, and a good one. Because she had a friend in the kitchens. Chiara. She trusted her, truly, and even if she knew that it was risky, she was also sure that her friend wouldn't betray her if she opened up to her just a little bit. She knew her, now. She wouldn't ask too many questions if Emma asked her not to. She really hoped that she wasn't wrong, anyway. She really wanted to believe in this possibility because it was her only way to have everything.

The thought of asking her friend for help couldn't seem to leave her mind even for a second, and she was feeling her heart pounding in her chest. She climbed up the same tree she'd always used to go back to her room, her hands shaking a little because she'd maybe found a solution and she just couldn't believe it. Without surprise, she didn't fall back asleep that morning. When Kate came to knock on her door to tell her that it was time to start with their day, she was already dressed and ready to go, her leg bouncing up and down in a mix of nervousness and excitement. She just couldn't wait to go talk to Chiara.

She worked nervously, that day, even though she tried not to show that something was off with her. She could tell that the Queen and Kate had noticed her unusual behavior right away, but they didn't say anything about it and didn't ask her any questions. Emma felt grateful for it. She really didn't want to be forced to invent another lie, she was feeling like she was drowning in them already. She'd probably told enough of them for several lifetimes.

She anxiously waited for her break, and when it finally came, she quickly walked to the kitchens to avoid changing her mind about her decision. She knew it was the only solution she had and if it was scary to ask Chiara for such a thing because she was going to know that she was hiding something, it was also so worth it. She was afraid that her friend would tell the couple about her request and that they would guess that she hadn't told them the entire truth, but she also really wanted to trust her. And she needed to do that, so her family could finally be reunited.

It wasn't unusual for her to go to the kitchens during her breaks to talk with Chiara for a bit. The delicious smell of meat made her stomach rumble as she was entering the area, the breakfast Killian had insisted for her to take before leaving the ship already seeming so far away. She smiled and exchanged a few words with some of the cooks there, now knowing most of them pretty well after all the weeks she'd spent working at the palace.

She found Chiara busy baking something, her hands and forearms covered in white flour. She seemed focused and she hadn't heard her friend coming in, so Emma approached her gently in order not to startle her. She waited for a second, not wanting to interrupt her in her task, but seeing that her friend still hadn't noticed her presence, she said in a low voice :

"Chiara?"

The young woman turned to her and smiled when she recognized her, greeting her warmly. "Hey, Leia! How are you doing today? You have a break?" She said, going back to her previous activities but looking glad to have some company.

"Yeah." Emma said vaguely, wondering how she was going to tell her friend about what she had in mind. Not finding a solution right away, she then decided to win some time instead. "Is yours in a long time?"

"After everyone has eaten, yeah." She sighed slightly, looking a bit tired but it was also obvious that she truly liked what she was doing.

Emma made a face at the fact she still had to work for so long before being allowed to rest, but she didn't answer anything. Instead, she leaned against the wooden counter and anxiously smoothed her dark blue dress, her gestures somewhat shaky and biting the inside of her cheek. She knew that she had to do this, but she also knew that everything could crumble because of this decision. While trying to have everything, she could lose all that she already had. But she had to try, or she wouldn't forgive herself for not fighting for her family and the dream they had together.

Luckily, Chiara didn't give her the time to hesitate no more. She stopped her task once again to be able to look at her, noting that something was off. "What's the matter?" She asked, frowning.

It was now or never and Emma knew it. She couldn't give herself the chance to back out. So she took a deep breath, looked into her friend's eyes and said. "I have something to ask you, but it's going to sound strange, and before I tell you anything you need to promise me that you won't ask any questions."

"Wow." She answered, a bit startled by the request. "It sounds serious. Why are you telling me this?" Emma smiled slightly at the words because Chiara had just broken the only rule she'd tried to set, and her friend noticed her mistake too. She winced and said with a chuckle. "Sorry. No questions, got it. You know you can tell me anything. But you just have to promise me that everything's all right, for that. You're not in trouble, are you?"

"No, but I probably will be if I don't ask you for this." Emma stated, touched by her friend's thoughtfulness. "And before I tell you what's going on, I also need you to promise me that you won't tell anyone about this conversation, ever."

"Huh." Chiara just said, looking more and more intrigued. "Are you sure that everything's okay?"

"Everything is fine, I swear. But you're the only one that I can trust with this, and I need it to stay between us."

"We're friends." Chiara smiled. "So you can tell me. I promise I won't talk to anyone about whatever is happening."

Emma felt her heart tightening a bit at these words. Aside from her relationship with Killian, she hadn't known many true friendships in her life, and she realized that now that she had two real friends she could trust, they actually didn't know anything about her. She'd lied about everything, and she felt a sob unexpectedly appearing in her throat at these thoughts. She couldn't help but think that if these two women had known who she truly was, they would probably never have talked to her. They would never have wanted to be friend with a thief and a murderer.

Emma forced herself to stop thinking about all of that, though, and she took a deep breath to pull herself together. Chiara was still looking at her in worry, and now wasn't the time to have regrets. She'd done what she needed to in order to survive, and she was only having this conversation with her friend now because she didn't have another choice and she knew it. So she looked around her to make sure that the other cooks were too far from them to listen to what they were saying, and she started to talk again in a low voice.

"Thanks, Chiara. It really means a lot."

"No need to thank me." He friend shrugged. "Just tell me what's going on."

"Well." Emma wavered a bit. "You see that basket of food that I take to my room every night? I don't actually eat what's inside it." She admitted, and she saw Chiara's eyes widening in surprise. "I give everything that's inside it to, hum… someone else, and I'm barely eating at all. It can't go on that way or I'll get sick."

"Wait, you have someone outside?" Chiara reacted, forgetting about her promise not to ask questions because she was completely taken aback by Emma's statement. "You have a family?"

"I can't tell you anything." Emma sighed slightly, knowing how dangerous all of this was. "I really can't. But let's just say that someone needs me out there."

"Oh, I see." The young woman blinked. She opened her mouth to add something, probably wanting to know how the hell she was giving this food to someone outside without getting out of the castle, but she suddenly remembered that she'd promised not to ask anything, so she nodded instead and said. "I get it. Just tell me what you need and I'll try to get it for you. I promise I won't tell anyone about it."

Emma was surprised to see how much her friend trusted her. She was ready to try and help her without knowing what was really going on, and it truly touched her heart. "I just need a little bit more food in the basket every night." She said, a bit hesitant. "Just so I can have enough to survive, you know? I know you're one of those who take care of what's put inside it. And since you're working in the kitchens, you can have an access to food that I don't have. I wouldn't be asking this from you if I was able to do it myself. But if someone sees me take the food away from here, I'm doomed, while if you put something in the basket yourself it won't seem weird at all. And I can't start eating at the table with the King and Queen either without them noticing that I've lied about my eating habits."

"That seems pretty complicated." Chiara noted kindly.

"It is. But if you agree to help me, and I get it if you don't, it'll have to stay discreet. No one can notice that I'm taking more food with me or they'll know that I'm hiding something. I told everyone that I have no one out there. If someone knows that I've lied, I can lose my job. And this wage… It's not for me. Someone needs me."

"So I'm the only one who knows?" She asked, looking a bit surprised.

"You are."

"Woah. Thanks for trusting me with this." She said, looking moved and Emma couldn't understand why she was thanking her, because she was asking for something that could put her in danger. "And I get it. Sometimes you have to hide things in order to survive. I'll help you, Leia. I'll do everything I can. I'm here for you."

"Are you sure?" Emma asked, surprised to see her accept everything so easily. "That's risky. I mean, if you get caught, it can be dangerous. Of course, if anything happens, I promise you that I'll tell everyone that I'm the one to blame. I won't let you fall with me for something that is my fault. I don't want you to lose your job because of that."

"Of course I'm sure, Leia." She simply shrugged. "We all have someone we care about out there. For me, it's my family. I don't know about you and I probably never will, but I understand. I'm going to help you, and I won't talk to anyone about it. You can trust me."

Tears of gratefulness suddenly appeared in Emma's eyes as she was hearing these words. She knew that her friend was being sincere and that she was going to keep her secret. She was risking everything for her, and she couldn't believe she was actually ready to do that. So she approached her for a hug because she didn't even know how to thank her, what made Chiara laugh slightly as she was saying. "I'm going to put flour everywhere on your dress."

"I don't care." Emma said back, keeping her in her arms for another second before pulling away and looking into her eyes. "Thank you. So much. I don't even know what to say."

"You don't need to say anything." She smiled gently. "That's what friends are for, and I'm happy to help you. I know you would do the same for me. So when do you need me to start with this?"

"Today, if possible." Emma answered, still incredibly touched by the situation. "We just need to decide when it's the best time for you to add more food in the basket, so no one can see what's going on."

They kept on talking for a while after that, deciding on a plan together. After supper, Chiara would fill in the basket for three people and take it to Emma's room like every night before, and they would pray that no one would notice something strange was going on. It was a risky operation because if someone saw how much food she was carrying with her, they would know she was hiding something, but Emma was sure that everything was going to be all right. Because while risking everything, she'd won it all. She was going to have enough to survive and still be able to save so she could be with her family again very soon.

She hugged her friend one last time before leaving. She just couldn't believe what this girl she'd become so close to was doing for her, because stealing food from the kitchens was bad and she could lose her job for it, but she didn't even seem to care. Emma was so grateful for this amazing friendship. She just wished it wasn't based on lies, but she had become Leia a long time ago, now. She had simply done what she needed to, and she was so grateful for the friends she'd made along the way.

And now, thanks to one of those friends, she'd managed to find a solution. Killian wouldn't have to worry for her anymore, and they would soon leave and be able to live their dream on their ship. Be home again, all together. And she just couldn't wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading guys! So the next two chapters are pretty huge. Big changes are happening and I hope that you're going to like it. I'm very excited for these characters' new adventure, so see you soon!


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! I'm very, very excited about this chapter, and the next two parts of this story as well, and I can't wait for you to read it! I really enjoyed writing this, so I hope you'll like it! A lot of changes are coming for Emma... See you soon! :)

Emma's day had been so exhausting she could barely stand on her feet anymore. She'd had so much to do and her eyes were closing on their own. Following the search for the Princess that was hopelessly stagnating after weeks of failed tries, the King and Queen had planned a meeting with their closest friends and advisers to try and find a solution all together. Granny, Red, the Blue Fairy, everyone had met and had talked for hours, Emma listening intently to what they had to say. They'd all agreed that the information of the search being organized needed to travel further into the Enchanted Forest, but no solution had actually been found yet. After hours, they'd decided to continue the meeting at a later date, all emotionally exhausted by the last events.

Emma could feel that the couple was getting more and more desperate. They still wanted to believe in their future happiness, but they were forced to watch their hopes fall every time and her heart was breaking to see them so down. They didn't deserve this. Their sadness was making her want to cry as well, even more because she wasn't sure that she could keep going like this anymore. She was so tired all the time she was feeling like she could faint. She hadn't had a real day off in weeks and her walks to the Jolly Roger were getting truly hard to accomplish.

She would have given anything to be able to sleep for more than a few short hours in a row, just so she could feel a bit better. But she couldn't accept to stay in the castle for more than necessary just so she could get some rest. She couldn't do that to her family, despite Killian who would always insist on the fact that she had to put herself first. She was barely seeing the people she loved the most anymore, and she was refusing to waste any minute she had with them. She wouldn't abandon them. And she was missing them, so much. She wouldn't be able to stay all alone in her bedroom even if she wanted to anyway, because falling asleep without Killian by her side seemed genuinely impossible.

They all however knew that this situation couldn't keep going for much longer.

The sun had already set in the sky. She grabbed the basket of food that Chiara had brought her that evening, once again feeling so glad that it was much heavier than it'd once been. Three weeks had passed since she'd talked to her friend, and everything was going great with their little plan. Chiara hadn't betrayed her and no one had noticed that something strange was happening, so they were definitely safe. One less thing to worry about.

She was so happy that she could at least feed her family and keep her savings, all while still taking care of herself, and she wasn't sure she could ever thank her friend enough for keeping her secret without asking questions. Thanks to her and despite her exhaustion, she was feeling better and wasn't scared to get sick anymore. Killian was very happy about all of this, too. And she smiled slightly as she was already imagining herself in his arms after this long, straining day, because she just couldn't wait to find him and her son back.

As she was glancing around the room to make sure that everything was okay for her to leave, her eyes met the wooden chest in which she'd hidden a huge pile of books, patiently waiting for their time to be used. Stories of fairies, adventures and hidden treasures. Her smile widened and she felt her heart missing an impatient beat. The next day was her little boy's birthday, and she truly hoped that he would like his gifts. Her baby boy was turning eleven, and if she couldn't believe how fast time had flown by, she just couldn't wait to spoil him. She'd used part of her wage for that, because that was definitely more than worth it. And maybe this would finally manage to make him smile again.

She'd never been able to buy him that many books before. She was feeling a bit guilty that she was somehow trying to make up for her absence by buying him things, but she just wanted him to feel better. Because her son seemed to be suffering from the situation more and more every day, missing his mom and holding onto her so tight when he would see her at night. Her heart was shattering every single time, so she would just try to tell herself that she was doing this to offer him the future that he deserved. And soon, everything would be okay again. It had to.

She finally entered the Princess' room to start her little routine. She took a little more time than usual to trap her hair pin correctly against the corner of the window though, despite her impatience to go join her boys. She wouldn't risk it opening again like it'd done the night before. She'd nearly had a heart attack when she'd found it wide open after climbing up the tree to go back to her room that morning.

A storm had struck while she was on the Jolly Roger, the wind incredibly strong and the lightening bolts that had enlightened the dark sky deeply threatening, and the window had opened on its own because of the violent gales. She'd been so scared that someone had discovered all of this and had realized that she was sneaking out of the castle, but it hadn't been the case, luckily. Snow and David had seemed normal for the entire day, and she couldn't believe her luck that she hadn't got caught. But she wouldn't let another accident happen this time. And she made sure that her trick was effective and invisible before jumping on the ground at the roots of the tree.

She was feeling anxious, as if everything was about to change. No one had noticed her lies yet, and she knew that it was a miracle. Still, she had the strange and scary feeling that it wouldn't last for much longer.

She quickly reached the harbor, encouraged by her desire to see her family and by the storm that was threatening to fall over her head again. It was so warm outside and the wind was blowing into the trees, the air unpleasantly damp. And she really just needed to see her son and boyfriend. With them, everything seemed possible, and she knew she would only feel better when she would finally be back in their arms.

But unfortunately, nothing went as planned. As always, Killian was awaiting for her on deck of the Jolly Roger and he took her in his arms and kissed her senseless on the spot. They weren't even saying how much they'd missed each other anymore, because it was too obvious to put words on the situation. But despite his tenderness, she could also feel at the way he was holding her that something was off, and when she asked him to tell her everything, he answered sadly.

"I need to warn you, my love. The lad isn't doing well. He can't take this situation anymore. He's cried today, and I barely managed to comfort him. He misses you, and he told me he feels like he never sees you anymore."

"I'm so sorry for everything." She said in a strangled voice, feeling so incredibly guilty. She knew her son was suffering, but hearing just how much was breaking her heart in half.

"Emma, it's not your fault." He soothed her, gently stroking her back. "You're doing this for our family, and he knows it. He's not mad at you. He just wants his mum back."

She nodded slowly as he was kissing her hair to comfort her. She was sure her heart had actually shattered at her boyfriend's words, and she just wanted to go join her little boy and promise him that she wouldn't let him down, never. So she took Killian's hand after a second and she quickly walked to Henry's room, because she was his mom and it was her job to promise him that everything was going to be okay. She didn't want him to be sad, especially not the day before his birthday. She just wanted him to be happy and healthy, and knowing that she was hurting him was making her want to scream.

She found Henry asleep underneath his blankets. His eyes were unusually red and it wasn't hard to guess that he'd cried a lot. He was looking peaceful now, but his cheeks were still wet with his tears and she tried to hold her own sobs back. She sat down next to him and gently caressed his hair to wake him up, hug him, and try to console him a little bit. He probably hadn't been asleep for long, because he woke up at once and he immediately jumped to wrap his arms around her and bury his face in her neck.

He started to cry again as he was holding onto her, and she felt her eyes filling in with tears. She forced herself to blink them away though, because her little boy didn't need to see her cry in addition to everything. She needed to be strong, for him, so she stroked his back and whispered to his ear in a slightly shaky voice.

"I'm here, kid, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."

"I've missed you… so much." He sobbed against her, and she understood that he was finally letting go of all the sadness he'd been bottling up for weeks.

She looked up at Killian with teary eyes, not really knowing what she could say to calm her little boy down. She just wanted him to feel better, and she knew that the way he was feeling was her entire fault. She wanted to cry so bad. Her boyfriend approached them then, seeing their distress, and he wrapped his arms around the both of them, kissing her hair and their son's forehead. He felt so strong against them, so she leaned on him like he was her rock and in him, she found the strength to hold her own pain back to comfort her son.

"I've missed you too, Henry. But I'm here now, and I love you. So, so much."

"When will you come back, Mom?" He asked in a muffled voice. "You said all of this was only for a little while. It's been weeks. I just want you back."

"Soon. I'll be back soon. I promise you, kiddo." She said, knowing all too well that she didn't really know what would happen in the future. Her wage was high, but she still hadn't gathered enough gold to be able to go away on the ocean with them, and she didn't know how much time she would need to do that. Right now though, she just wanted to console her son, so she told him what he needed to hear. "Everything is going to be okay, soon."

"But it's my birthday tomorrow." He sobbed, holding onto her for dear life as if he were scared that she was going to disappear. "You're always with me for my birthday. And you can't this time. I don't want to spend the day without you."

"I know, I'm so sorry." She said in a small voice, because she was feeling like she was a horrible person for making him feel that way. "But I'll come back at night. And I have some surprises for you, as well." She added, just trying to make him feel better.

"But I don't care about the gifts!" He cried out almost aggressively. It wasn't like him and it told just how much he was suffering. "All I want for my birthday is you."

She didn't know how she did it to stop herself from crying, but she felt like her soul was breaking into a million pieces. She made him climb on her lap to be able to hold him just a little bit closer and convince him that she was still there and wasn't abandoning them, and they all shared an intense collective hug in this little, dark room. Killian was embracing them, trying to calm them down, and she tried to convince herself that everything was going to be all right soon. They would overcome this. But that was still not erasing her little boy's pain, so she did the only thing she could to maybe manage to make him smile again.

"I promise you that I'll do everything I can to spend the day with you tomorrow, kid. I'll ask the couple for a day off. I want to be with you for you eleventh birthday, too. It's so, so important, more important than anything." She didn't care about her employer's reaction to her request on the moment. She didn't care that they didn't know she had people outside and could ask her questions. All she wanted was to be with her family.

"But won't you be in trouble with the King and the Queen because of that?" He sniffed, even if her words seemed to be comforting him a bit. "You can't lose your job. I know that."

"You come before this job, Henry, every single time. I can't promise you that I'll be able to make it happen, but I swear I'll do everything for it."

He nodded slowly, and his tears calmed down as if the fact she'd promised him she would do everything she could was making him feel just a little bit better. She was still fighting hard against her own despair, though. She was hurting her own son while she'd sworn she would do anything to protect him, always. And she realized that despite the fact she liked the people she was working with at the palace, the pain of being separated from her family was getting too strong for her to go on that way.

She so would have liked to have everything, deep down. To keep this job and have the people she loved by her side at the same time. Even if it was only for a little while, until they had enough gold to go, but she just wanted to be with them. But she also knew that she couldn't, and if she needed to make a choice, she would choose Henry and Killian without even thinking about it. She loved them too much to hurt them like that, no matter how adorable the royal couple and her friends were with her. Nothing felt right without her boys.

She kept on whispering words of comfort to Henry's ear for a very long time. And after minutes or hours, she just couldn't tell anymore, the three of them fell asleep in the bed, her little boy snuggled against her, Killian's arms protectively wrapped around the both of them. It was as if they were scared that one of them was going to fade away, and before falling into her agitated dreams, she promised herself that she would do everything that was in her power for things to get better.

* * *

The storm had raged all night long. The wind gusts had been incredibly strong and the rain had poured down on the Jolly Roger for hours, and yet they slept without waking up until dawn. The world had disappeared around them and only their family mattered anymore. The anger of the nature outside didn't have any kind of importance.

Emma woke her son up with a "happy birthday, kid" whispered to his ear, as he was still snuggled in her arms. He held onto her tightly, but unfortunately, she had to leave once again. And it was hard. Because she would have done anything to spend the day with him and Killian, to enjoy their presence like they'd always done before all of this. Maybe they could even have gone out in the city to eat in a tavern and celebrate their little boy's birthday. But none of that was possible, because she couldn't be seen while being with her family or people would discover her lies, and she couldn't not show up at the castle either. She felt so helpless she just wanted to cry, but that wouldn't solve anything and she knew it.

Henry had tears in his eyes, but he didn't ask her not to go. He knew she didn't have a choice. She crouched before him anyway and said in a low voice. "I promise I'll try to come back, Henry. Don't you worry. Just try to have a good time and enjoy this day, all right? I love you so, so much."

"I love you, too." He smiled slightly, and she dropped a kiss to his forehead before standing back up.

"See you later." She said to Killian, and they shared a long, tender kiss, as if he wanted to make her own pain disappear by showing her that he was here, no matter what.

She walked slowly into the darkness of the early morning. The storm had done some damage to the forest, huge branches were blocking the path and everything was so silent around her, telling just how violent it had all been. She didn't pay attention to any if this, though. She really wanted to find a way back to her son for his birthday, and she was wondering how the hell she could ask something like that to the royal couple without risking to get fired at the same time. Maybe she could tell them that she was sick and wanted to go to the apothecary herself to get something to help. Or perhaps she could just say that she had something important to do and couldn't miss it. Anything, really, to go back to her little boy.

But she knew deep down that none of this would work. And damn, she was so tired of lying all the time. Everything would have been so much simpler if she'd been able to tell everyone that she had a family. She just wanted her boys to come live with her at the castle until all of this was over. She wanted to have everything, but things weren't that easy. She'd lied, thinking that it wouldn't have any consequences, and she was paying the price for her decisions now. And this entire situation was breaking her heart.

She was feeling almost sick with sadness when she reached the palace. She knew she wouldn't manage to fall back asleep that morning, and she was trying to think about something that could help her to go join her son for the day, to be with her little boy for his birthday and pretend that everything was okay. She climbed up the tree, completely lost in her thoughts. So lost that she didn't notice right away the window that was wide open before her.

When, finally, her eyes met the damage the storm had caused, she thought she was going to fall from the branch she was sitting on. "No, no, no." She murmured, cursing herself and the damn hair-pin for not doing its job. And she prayed, she prayed so hard that she'd got lucky again and that no one had noticed what she'd done.

But as she was carefully entering the room, she didn't notice the two figures that were standing in the darkness, waiting for her.

She was staring to think that maybe everything was okay after all when two lanterns that lightened up at the same time almost made her heart stop. It blinded her for a second, as if the people there were trying to stop her from running away. She covered her eyes, wincing in pain, and she didn't have the time to understand what was happening to her that David's cold tone rang against the walls.

"I think you owe us an explanation, Leia."

She felt a wave of pure terror taking over her. Everything that she'd been so scared of for weeks was happening before her eyes, and she just wanted it all to be a nightmare. The royal couple was standing before her, and now that she could see their faces, she could tell that they were really mad. David's cheeks were reddened with anger, but it's Snow's expression that made her want to cry. She was looking at her with big sad eyes, like she couldn't believe that someone she trusted so much had betrayed her.

The Queen started to talk, in a deep voice that was so unusual it made Emma startle. "We thought we heard the window opening on its own last night, but it didn't worry us. We believed it was just the wind. But when it happened again today, we knew. We knew that something was going on, so we waited here to surprise whoever was trying to sneak inside or out of here. Of all people, I never thought it would be you."

Her tone was so accusing Emma blurted out the first thing that came to her mind "It's not what you think. I can explain."

This wasn't a lie, for once. They were probably thinking that she had something bad in mind to sneak out of her bedroom like that, but it wasn't the case. She was just going to find her family. She wasn't doing anything wrong, aside from hiding the truth from them. She felt tears appear in her eyes again as David was saying in a harsh tone.

"You better have a very good reason to explain your behavior, Leia, or I promise you that you will get the hell out of this castle and never set foot here again. Is that clear? All right, we're listening." He added once she'd nodded slowly.

She couldn't hold back one tear that discreetly rolled down her cheek. It was so painful to see the face of this man that had once trusted her, looking at her like she was a criminal. For a second, she thought about inventing another lie, literally anything that would allow her to keep her job and earn the money she needed. But she gave up on this possibility quite quickly. She couldn't lie anymore. They would discover her secrets eventually, and it was time to come clean.

She was probably going to get fired, anyway. It wasn't worth lying again. At least she could keep her promise made to Henry that she would be with him for his birthday. They would struggle after that, they would have to find another job, maybe even have to move out again, but for one blessed day, she could be with her family.

It was still painful, though, to think that all of this was ending up so badly. These people had been so important to her for a little while, they'd made her feel good and appreciated, and she couldn't keep on lying to them anymore. She had to tell the truth, at least this once. So she managed to swallow back her sobs, and she said in a shaky voice, feeling so appalled that everything had crumbled yet another time.

"I have a son."

An odd silence followed her statement. She was aware that this wasn't explaining anything at all and that she could have used a better way to tell them what was happening, but she didn't know what else to do. The words had come out of her mouth on their own, as if she couldn't bear the secrets she'd created anymore. Snow blinked several times as David was left speechless, and it's the Queen who started again, looking absolutely perplexed.

"Excuse me?"

"I have a son." Emma repeated, trying not to start panicking as she was adding hastily. "A little boy. The basket of food that I take to my room every day, it's for him. I get out of the castle at night to join him, so I can see him for a bit. He needs me."

The couple seemed more suspicious than anything after hearing her, but she could understand that. She'd lied about everything after all, and they probably thought that this wasn't making any sense, and that she was inventing things again. Trying to prove them that she was telling the truth this time, she continued.

"I've never talked to you about him, because I knew you would never keep on employing me if you knew that I had someone out there. But I really need this job, so I can offer him the future that he deserves."

"How can we know that you're not lying again, Leia?" David said severely.

Emma felt like she was going to start screaming. She truly was drowning in her own lies. If she'd finally told them about her son, she was still hiding so much more, but she wasn't about to tell them who she truly was either. That was too much, and she couldn't risk everything that she had.

She opened her mouth to answer, but Snow shook her head and asked. "What's his name?"

"Henry. His name's Henry." Emma said in a small voice with the unpleasant feeling that they were going to judge every single one of her answers. Snow was probably going to question her to see how fast she was answering and decide if she really was telling them the truth this time.

"How old is he?"

"Eleven. It's his birthday today. I was about to ask you for a day off. He's never spent his birthday without me, and he's hurting because of the situation."

"You had him when you were really young then, right?" The Queen asked, looking a bit surprised to hear that her son wasn't a toddler.

"I was seventeen. I did everything I could to offer him the life he deserves. It's hard, but I'm doing my best. That's why I'm here today, that's why I took this job in the first place. It's all for him."

"Who's taking care of him while you're working here? His father?"

"His birth father is gone." Emma simply shrugged.

"Gone?" The Queen repeated.

"Before Henry was born, yes. He doesn't even know he exists. My son thinks that he died before his birth, I couldn't tell him the truth. He abandoned us."

"So, who's staying with him right now? Is he on his own?"

"Gods, no!" She cried out, horrified by the idea of Henry being all alone in the world. "He's just a boy. Of course someone's there to take care of him when I'm gone."

"And who's caring for him, Leia? The farmers you were working for before you came here?"

"There was never any farmers." She admitted, just wanting to stop with all the secrets. "I lied. I've worked in a tavern for a long time, but never in a farm."

"Who's with Henry, then?"

"A… friend." She hesitated for a second.

She hoped that they hadn't noticed she was still hiding that part of her life from them because of the way she'd wavered. She'd thought about admitting everything, but she couldn't tell them about Killian, because she had too much to lose. If she talked about her boyfriend, everything could worsen even more and this couldn't happen.

The couple would probably try to know more about her because of all these lies, and now that they knew her son's name and if she told them about her partner in addition to all of that, they were likely to hear about what they'd done in their former region. They would discover that she was Emma Swan, and she couldn't take that risk. She was probably going to get fired anyway, so telling the entire truth wasn't the right decision. She'd done enough already.

She added in a low voice, seeing Snow's suspicious expression at her stuttering. "His name is Charles. He's been helping me with Henry for years. I bring him food too, every night. He's like a father to my son."

"What else have you lied about, Leia?" The Queen asked then, as if to end her questioning.

Emma didn't answer to that one question. She'd lied about many more things and she couldn't tell them who she truly was, so she chose not to say anything instead. But she looked into her eyes, trying to make her understand that despite all of that, she wasn't a threat, she just wanted to offer a real future to her family.

Snow held her gaze for a long time, only breaking their moment to look at her husband. They shared a long glance that Emma couldn't decipher, and it made her nervous. She just hoped that they weren't going to throw her in a cell for her mistakes. She'd done everything to stay with her family, and it would have been so stupid for all her efforts to be wiped out because of a damn storm that had opened a window.

Emma started to talk again after a few seconds, to break the thick silence that had filled in the room. "I suppose you want me to gather my things, and you hope to never see me again?"

"What do you mean?" Snow said, looking genuinely confused. "Do you want to leave?"

"Of course not." Emma frowned, not understanding the Queen's reaction. "But I guess you're firing me. It's only fair, if I'm being honest. I lied to you. I get that you're angry."

"We're not firing you, Leia." David stated then, what made her blink in surprise.

"I'm sorry?" She stuttered

"We're not firing you." Snow repeated. "Why would we? You made a mistake, but you've done a wonderful job until now. You truly did your best here. And I'm sure that if you'd wanted to hurt us, you would have done so long ago. I also know you now, I know that you have a good heart. I can understand the decision you've made. You just wanted to protect your family."

"Seriously?" Emma asked, feeling tears threatening to roll down her cheeks again. She couldn't believe that everything wasn't lost yet, that maybe she had a chance to redeem herself.

"We want to trust you, Leia, but the problem is we don't have any proof that you're telling the truth, now." David added.

"That's why we would like for you to bring your son here." Snow continued. "We would like to meet him, and to be sure that you aren't lying again. If you can prove that you're being sincere this time, we won't fire you. You are a good assistant and the Princess will need you when she'll get home. And if he wants too, Henry can come stay here with us, too. There are plenty of free rooms for him in this castle. We just hope that you're not trying to fool us again."

"I'm not, I promise, I'm..." Emma tried to answer, interrupting herself because she couldn't hold her tears back anymore.

She couldn't believe that after all her lies, they were still ready to forgive her. And they wanted for her son to come to the palace as well. She felt so damn happy all of the sudden. Because they were Henry's heroes, and he could now meet them and even be treated like a little prince, just like in his dreams. She could already imagine his eyes sparkling with pure joy and his huge grin when she would tell him everything. That was the best birthday present she could ever have offered him, and she was so, so glad that maybe she was able to make her son truly happy again.

"Thank you so much." She added then, sniffing discreetly. "Thank you for giving me a second chance."

"It's up to you to show us that what you're telling us is true." David said, still looking a bit mistrustful and she could understand that. "Go, now. Go back to your son. But if you're lying again, don't bother to come back at all. Am I being clear?"

"Yes." She nodded, before walking to the door of the room, for the first time able to leave the castle by the front gates to go join her family. "I'll be there. You can count on me."

They didn't answer, but they kept on looking at her as she was walking away. David's suspicious gaze, and oddly enough, Snow's tenderized expression were the only things she brought with her in the dark hallways of the palace.

* * *

She ran all the way to the Jolly Roger, not even feeling the exhaustion anymore. She couldn't have cared less about her painful lungs and shaky legs. She just couldn't wait to come back to her family and tell them everything, but she was also running to calm her thoughts down. Because everything was going so fast she was feeling dizzy.

She was so damn happy that she could bring her son with her to the castle. But she was also worried, because she knew that she was inevitably going to hurt Killian. She couldn't introduce him to the couple as Charles, it was way too risky. The King and Queen were likely to start looking into her past because she'd lied to them in the first place, and if they knew both their faces and even without their real names, they could find out that they were wanted for murder. This couldn't happen. She hadn't run away to the other side of the world to get thrown in a cell here.

But at the same time, she didn't want her boyfriend to suffer. If Henry really did end up staying with her at the castle, he would barely see his son anymore. The situation would be the exact same, because their family would still be separated. Henry and her finally reunited, but Killian on his own. And she didn't want him to be, she didn't want him to pay for what had happened so long ago. He was going to suffer from Henry's absence, and her little boy would be lost without his father. She didn't know what to do. And yet she knew she didn't have a choice but to hide Killian's existence, because she couldn't take that risk.

She'd told Snow and David that she had a friend outside of the castle, though, and that was still a step in the right direction. Because she could come to meet Killian every night without hiding it anymore, just asking for the couple's permission to leave the palace for the evening. The Princess wasn't there yet after all, and she wasn't needed during the night. She would tell them that she was refusing to stay away from the man they knew as Charles, and she would keep on coming to the ship to spend the night home.

That was the perfect solution actually, she thought, panting and a drop of sweat running down her temple. Maybe Henry could stay with her during the day, and they could both come back at night to spend time with Killian, so they could still be all together. It was going to be exhausting and she was aware of it, but she also knew that she needed to find a solution to make everything better. She knew that Killian wasn't going to get mad, anyway. All he wanted was for them to be happy, but she felt the same way about him and she refused to hurt him like that.

But her relief was still stronger than her worries on that moment. Because she could offer her son the best birthday present ever, and she was feeling like somehow, this new situation was the first step toward their dream life on the ocean. They would all be reunited soon, and everything would be right in the world again.

She was expecting to find Henry and Killian in their rooms since the sun was barely starting to rise in the sky, but they were both standing on deck, looking in her direction. She guessed that Henry had probably wanted to wait for her, to see if she was keeping her promise to come back to him. He saw her right away, and she heard him calling her name, laughter audible in his voice. He was so happy, and she couldn't wait to make him even happier with what she had to tell him.

She could barely breathe anymore when she reached the ship. Henry didn't give her the time to catch her breath though, he wrapped his arms around her and cried out with a huge smile. "You came back! I knew you would!"

She simply held him against her for a while, trying to slow her heartbeats down enough so she was able to talk again. Killian seemed to notice that something was going on, though. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and rested his hand on Henry's shoulder, asking with a bit of worry in his voice. "Is everything all right, Swan?"

She just nodded as an answer and tried to smile to reassure him, but she was torn apart by contradictory feelings. Pure joy that she was able to make her son happy, infinite sadness at the idea that she was going to hurt the man she loved. But she didn't have a choice anymore, anyway. So she pulled a little bit away from her son to crouch down and face him.

He seemed to guess that something important was going to happen, because he looked at her intently as she was saying. "I have a surprise for you, kid. A big one." She panted, still trying to recover from her race.

"You're here, it's all that I need." He said, and she smiled.

"That's way better. Just you wait."

"What is it?" He asked, curious.

She took a deep breath before talking, feeling tears of emotion in her eyes. "Something happened and it's a long story, but I've finally talked about you to the King and Queen. They know you exist. And they want to meet you."

A stunned silence followed her statement. Henry and Killian both stared at her with wide eyes, and they shared a glance after a while, as if they wanted to make sure that they'd heard the same thing and that all of this was real. She decided to explain everything then, so they could understand what had truly happened. She told them about the storm opening to window, about the couple questioning her, and their desire to meet Henry. And they listened to her without saying a word, looking too surprised to do anything else than simply stand there.

When she finished her tale, her son blinked several times, looking absolutely amazed. A huge smile finally spread on his lips and he wrapped his arms around her for a tight hug. "Is that true, Mom? They really want to see me?"

"And they want to know more about you." She added, kindly rubbing his back. "They want you to come to the castle, right now. How's that for a birthday present, huh?"

"Awesome!" He cried out, looking overexcited, what made her chuckle slightly. He turned to Killian, who still hadn't said a thing, and added. "You're coming with us, right? We'll be able to be all together again!"

Her smile faded away at once as she met the eyes of the man she loved. He was looking at them both with a tenderized expression painted on his face, but the sadness she could read in his gaze made it obvious that he already knew. He knew that he couldn't come with them to the castle, and it broke her heart. Because Henry was going to be sad, Killian was going to get hurt, and she just wanted for everything to be okay again. And suddenly, after all the joy, she just wanted to cry and apologize for causing them so much pain.

She then stood up and came to snuggle against her boyfriend's strong chest. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close for a few seconds. She didn't want to say everything out loud, but she knew she needed to, so after a while she pulled a little bit away to be able to look at him as she was talking.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't tell them about us. They're probably going to start looking into my past and try to find things about me, and if they know that we are a couple and see both our faces, they can find our real identities easily. I can't risk being separated from you forever. It's already hard enough as it is."

"Don't apologize, love." He said, gently running his fingers through her hair in a soothing gesture, but she could guess the sadness he was trying to hide. "You did what you had to for our family."

"I told them that I had a friend named Charles, though." She added, hoping it would comfort him a little bit. "I said that you were taking care of Henry and that you were family. I won't have to hide to come meet you here at night anymore. And if Henry does decide to stay at the castle with me, he can come here for the nights, too."

"I won't stay away from you." Her son added, looking at his father intently. "I don't want to, I'd miss you too much."

"I'd miss you too, lad." Killian said with a small smile.

"We won't let you down, Killian." Emma stated to prove him that she really was telling him the truth. "Never. And it's only for another little while. Then we'll be reunited again."

"I know you're not abandoning me, Emma." He said very softly. "I never doubted that. And I'm glad that the lad can go and meet the couple, truly. I love you. I love you both."

"We love you, too." She answered, and Henry had a very slight smile, as if to stress his mom's words.

"We'll find a solution." Killian continued, as if he were trying to reassure himself as well. But he turned to their son with a smile then, and he added with a playful wink. "But for now, lad, enjoy your day. You're going to meet these people that you admire so much. And they're going to adore you."

Henry simply came to hug him as an answer, and Emma pulled away to leave them their moment. It was obvious that this new situation was going to create more problems, because they were going to miss one another so much. But at least she wouldn't have to hide to leave the palace anymore, if the couple agreed to let her go – and they would, she wouldn't take no for an answer. And it was only for a few more weeks. She wasn't sure she could hold on for much longer, anyway.

"Let's walk to the city together." She offered when they'd pulled away from each other. "Now that they know I have people outside, the citizens can see me with you. As long as the couple doesn't really see your face, I think we're safe."

"Let's do that." Killian nodded, appreciating the idea. "And we should go. I bet the couple can't wait to meet Henry."

They left all together, Henry almost bouncing up and down as he was walking and Emma and Killian holding hands a few steps behind. She could feel how tightly her boyfriend was holding onto her, and her heart shattered. It was as if he were scared to lose her for real. As if now that Henry could be with her, she was going to forget about him. But she would never. Because she loved him and his absence was leaving a hole in her soul.

So to try and comfort him, she stopped every few minutes to drop little kisses to his cheek or lips. She just wanted to show him that she wouldn't abandon him, no matter what. He was the one, and she wasn't going to let him down. They were meant to be together. And one day, they would finally be able to truly be happy.

* * *

"I'll come back as soon as I can." Emma whispered, her head resting on Killian's shoulder as he was holding her against him. "I promise."

"I know, my Swan." He said in a comforting voice, even though it was obvious that it was paining him to see them both walk away.

They'd reached the city, and it was time for them to part ways. She so wanted to ignore every danger and to introduce Killian to the couple as well, but she knew she just couldn't. So she ended up pulling away from him, and pressed a brief but tender kiss on his lips, as if to assure him that she would indeed come back.

Killian knelt on the floor to face Henry, then. The little boy seemed to be torn apart by his own feelings. He was going from pure joy to sadness in the span of a second, because he was so hurt to be forced to leave his dad like that. He wrapped his arms around his father's neck, and Killian said to his ear, trying to comfort him. "If I don't see you anymore today, I hope you'll have a great time for your birthday, lad."

"I'll come back." Henry stated seriously. "It's not a good day if you're not there."

"I cannot wait to see you again, then." Killian answered, sounding deeply touched by Henry's words.

"I love you, Dad." The little boy stated out of the blue.

The time seemed to stop around them at once. Still holding Henry against him, Killian looked up at Emma, as if to make sure that he'd heard correctly. She blinked, a tear escaping her eyes and staring at the two most important people of her life, feeling like her heart was going to burst. Henry was always telling Killian that he loved him. But he'd never called him dad before.

It was a huge moment, and they all knew it. Henry had chosen Killian as his father since day one, but hearing him call him that way was filling her with pure happiness. And the lonely tear that ran down her boyfriend's cheek as he heard the word told all about how the situation was making him feel.

Emma knew how important it was for him. Henry had probably chosen this moment to call him that way, to prove him that he would come back and that they were still a family despite everything that was going on, but knowing Killian's story, it wasn't hard to guess why it was touching him so much. He'd been so incredibly hurt in his past and had thought that he would never be loved again for years. And now this little boy was trusting him with his entire being, and she couldn't believe how beautiful it was.

Killian waited a second before answering, his voice a bit broken by the emotion. "I love you too, Henry. And I couldn't be prouder that you are my son."

Their little boy smiled and they finally pulled away, looking at each other for a while. Emma was silently crying now, because she was fully realizing how lucky they all were to have one another. They'd found a home together. Her, the lost little girl who'd thought that she would never be enough, and him, the fearful pirate who'd been so hurt by life, were raising a wonderful little boy and she couldn't believe her luck. They were the best versions of themselves when they were together. And soon, they would be reunited again, because they were lost when they were apart.

Leaving him after that was absolutely awful. He was trying not to cry, but she could feel his pain in her bones. She pressed another kiss on his lips as a goodbye, and she murmured as a promise. "See you tonight."

And after Henry gave him one last hug, they left him all alone in between the trees as he was watching them walk away.

Henry took her hand as they were moving forward, to comfort himself or to make her feel better, she couldn't tell. Because despite the beautiful moment they'd just lived, she was feeling like she was abandoning Killian. And it was absolutely horrifying, because she would have done anything for him to be happy.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, and she was glad to notice that her son seemed a little less sad as they were approaching the palace. The thought of coming back to Killian at night was probably comforting him, and he now looked genuinely happy that he was finally going to meet the couple.

The castle wasn't far from where they'd left Killian, and they reached their destination in barely a few moments.

She knew the guards that were usually standing up beside the gates pretty well now, but they gave her a curious look as she walked past them. They didn't dare say a thing, though. They'd probably heard all about the rumors of Leia Stark having a son that were surely spreading between the employees, but they seemed surprised that it was actually true. However, their expression didn't seem to unsettle Henry. His good mood was completely back now, and he offered the guards a huge grin that made them blink in disbelief as they were entering the castle.

The royal couple was waiting for them in the hallway. They were talking in low voices, maybe wondering if she was actually going to come back or if she'd lied about everything, but they immediately turned to them when they heard them coming in. The stared at Henry, as if not believing that he really existed after all, and Emma felt her son stiffening beside her, squeezing her hand a little bit tighter.

She'd expected that to happen. Even if he was so happy to be able to come with her to the palace, meeting his heroes was probably terrifying for him. She thus turned to him and smiled, trying to gently encourage him. He was excited but he also was a shy little boy with people that he didn't know well. He was probably so intimidated to now be standing in front of the King and the Queen, just like in his dreams.

She wanted to crouch down in front of him and promise him that everything was going to be okay, but she didn't have the time to do so. Snow approached them and she smiled softly, as if so glad that the little boy was actually there and that Emma hadn't lied about him. "So, you're Henry."

Her son looked at the Queen for a minute, and seemed about to take a step back, but he stopped himself from doing so. He was still holding his mom's hand, as if to make sure that he wasn't alone in this. He took a deep breath to answer, and his voice came out a bit small, but it was also obvious that he was truly glad to be there. "Yes, Your Majesty. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is ours." David smiled, entering the conversation. "We can't wait to know more about you. But there's no need for these kind of formalities with us, all right? Forget the titles. You're home here."

Henry looked at Emma, as if to silently ask her if he could trust what was being said. He had never been used to strangers being so kind to him, but she nodded and winked to show him that the couple was being sincere. He dared to smile then, a little shy grin, and Snow knelt on the ground to talk to him more easily.

"Your mom told us that it's your birthday today, isn't it? Would you care for a special visit of the castle, since it's a very important date?"

Henry's smile widened at these words and he nodded enthusiastically to show his approval, glancing at Emma with an overexcited grin. Snow smiled back at him, and David came to briefly rest his hand on Emma's arm, telling her by this simple little gesture that they were fine. She'd proved that she hadn't lied about Henry, and her job wasn't in danger anymore.

She smiled in relief, realizing that everything was finally okay again. In addition to her happiness of being safe, the fact that the couple had just met her son and were already treating him like family was making her so happy. Her little boy was going to be respected here, he was going to be treated the way he truly deserved, and she sighed in pure bliss.

Snow stood back up after a minute, and David stepped away to place his hand on Henry's shoulder in a protective gesture that made Emma's smile widen. Her son glanced back at her to make sure that she wasn't leaving them, but he finally let go of her hand as they were moving to the common room to start the visit he was waiting for. She held a bit back as her son was answering the couple's questions, so proud to see him being so kind and polite, and incredibly happy to realize that he'd truly regained his smile.

Steps coming in their direction made them stop after a little while to see who was approaching. A second later, Kate and Chiara entered the room and Emma's eyes met theirs, as they were staring at her and her son with wide eyes. They were however smiling, relieved that she hadn't lied after all, and they both came to hug her as if they'd been scared to never see their friend again. It truly surprised Emma, she had to admit it. She'd expected them to be angry that she had hidden such a huge thing from them, but they didn't seem mad at all. Relief took over her once again as she realized that she hadn't lost her two friends despite everything that she'd done.

"You should have told us that you had a son." Kate said anyway, but she wasn't sounding accusing at all.

"I know." Emma sighed slightly. "But keeping this from you seemed like the best solution when I came here for the first time. I never thought that I would get the job in the first place, so it didn't seem like a big deal back then. I'm just happy that you get to meet Henry, now."

Her son had turned to listen to his mom, and the two women gently smiled at him. "We're just happy that everything is okay." Chiara continued happily.

"Well, since we're telling the truth, now." Emma added then, feeling like it was the right time to talk about Killian and the fact she wanted to go meet with him at night. "I've told you about Charles, my friend. We're very close, he's a father for Henry, and we would like to be able to keep on seeing him. Since you don't need me here during the night yet, would it be okay if we went to meet him after my shifts?"

"A man that you want to spend the nights with, huh? Are you sure that he's just a friend?" Chiara noted with a playful raise of her eyebrows, and Emma blushed slightly. She had already been aware that something was going on because of the conversation they'd shared in the kitchens weeks before, and she didn't seem convinced by Emma's lie that Killian was simply a friend.

Emma didn't answer, and Snow had a small, amused smile. It was obvious that they all already knew that the one she called Charles was more than a friend, but it didn't really matter. As long as they didn't know his face and couldn't discover who they really were because of their bond as a family, everything was good.

"Of course you can go, Leia." The Queen nodded, and Emma sighed happily. That meant that she didn't have to sneak out anymore, and she didn't have to put Chiara in danger as she was stealing food from the kitchens either. The couple knew she had people she cared about now, and they would agree to give her everything that she needed. "But Henry,you can stay and sleep here if you wish to. We're going to show you some of the free rooms we have, to see if you like one of them. And Leia, if your friend Charles wants to stay as well, he's welcome here. If you took the risk to sneak out of here every night and meet him, it's that you truly care about him."

Damn, they were so nice, Emma thought. She felt like it would have been so much easier to tell them the truth right away instead of keeping all these secrets, because they were actually ready to host her entire family. And it seemed so appealing to bring Killian along with them, but she knew it was too risky, so she fought against her strongest desires and slowly shook her head "Thank you for the offer, but I think Charles prefers to stay at his place, for now at least." She lied. "I'll go meet with him at night there. And Henry will want to see him, too. Right, kid?"

"Of course." Her son nodded with a smile. "I'd miss him too much otherwise."

"Wow. He's a father to your son and you can't stand the idea of not seeing him? You guys seem  _really_  close." Chiara insisted, and Emma glanced at her out of the corner of her eyes to see that she was smiling, as if she were finding this entire situation very entertaining. Henry laughed at Chiara's comment, amused by her words, and Emma grinned then, so happy to see her son regaining this cheerful expression that he'd lost lately.

"You can do as you please during the night, as long as you come back to the castle for the beginning of the day." David added with a smile of his own.

"That won't be a problem." Emma answered more seriously, to show him that she would continue to do her best.

"Very well, it's settled, then." Snow White nodded, before looking back at Henry. "What would you like to see first, sweetie? One of the rooms? The dining room? The kitchens?"

"Do you have a library?" Her son asked, his eyes sparkling and making Emma's heart grow in her chest at how much she loved her little boy.

"Of course we do, with more books than you could ever imagine." The Queen answered, and continued when she saw how happy Henry looked. "Do you like to read?"

"I love to!" He cried out enthusiastically, his shyness completely gone as he was finally feeling comfortable enough to be himself. "Mom taught me when I was little. It's my favorite thing to do."

"Well, you're going to like it here, then." David stated. "We have hundreds of books in this castle. Let's go show you the library, shall we? I'm sure you're going to love it."

Chiara went back to the kitchens, but Kate stayed with them as they were heading for the stairs to join the library that was on the first floor. David and Henry were talking and laughing cheerfully, as if they'd known each other for years already, as the three women were holding a bit back, smiling at their conversation.

Emma quickly found herself lost in her thoughts, incredibly happy that all had gone so well. She could go and join Killian every night without having to lie or hide things anymore, and her son was living his best birthday yet. She just wished she could really have told the couple everything and could have brought Killian to the castle as well, but since it was impossible, this was the best thing she could get from this entire situation. She she was truly glad that things had turned out so well after worrying for weeks about her family's future.

Snow snapped her out of her thoughts after a few minutes by placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. Emma turned to look at her and the Queen smiled softly. "We're not mad at you, honey, you know? I wanted you to be certain of that. We would have liked for you to trust us with this before, but we understand why you did what you did. You just wanted to protect your family"

Emma nodded, feeling deeply relieved to hear the Queen say those things, because it truly meant that everything was alright between them. "I needed the money, and I just wanted Henry to have the future that he deserves. It hasn't always been easy, but I've always done my best for him."

"Well, you did a great job. And you were really brave, to do that on your own while still being so young. Your little boy is adorable. You can be proud of yourself."

"I'm simply proud of him." She smiled, touched by the Queen's words. "He's one of the best things in my life, and I would give everything for him to be happy."

"I know how you feel." Snow said, and they shared a glance, sadness taking over Emma again at the idea that the Princess still hadn't showed up after all this time. But she would eventually, it would be too unfair otherwise.

Emma held a bit back for the rest of the visit, leaving this moment to her son so he could enjoy it fully and learn to know the couple. Henry was amazed by the number of books that were in the library, and his eyes filled in with tears of joy when the Queen told him that he could take with him whatever he wanted at any time. She followed him as he was visiting one of the rooms not far from her own, and as he was deciding that if he wanted to stay at the castle after all, he would sleep there. And she watched over him as he was meeting the friends she'd made over time, asking them thousands of questions about what their jobs were and what they were asked to do. He wanted to understand everything, because he'd never been used to this kind of wealthy environment before. And he seemed so happy she couldn't help but smile all along as she was watching him.

She knew that it was still going to be hard, because Killian was going to be on his own for most of the time on the Jolly Roger now, because Henry was going to miss him like crazy and because she felt like she couldn't keep on being separated from him for much longer. She just missed him so damn much. But she also knew that things had got a bit better, somehow. She didn't have to hide anymore, even if she had to keep on lying about her true identity, and she could eat what she needed without stealing from the kitchens, and go join Killian at night without taking any risk. It was definitely an improvement.

And she knew this wasn't forever, anyway. Soon, she would be able to gather enough money to leave with her family. Perhaps that, meanwhile, she would feel confident enough to introduce Killian to the couple without feeling threatened by their past. They'd left their former region for months after all, but it still felt too soon for her right now, to completely feel safe. The future was still uncertain, but her little boy was happy for now and it was so wonderful after everything he'd been through. So she wasn't regretting her choice to finally tell the truth to the couple. And it was obvious that they'd already accepted her son like he was a part of their family.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys, I'm so excited about this chapter even though it made me a bit sad. You know that I love angst and I felt like it was important for Killian and Emma to go through some of this before the huge change of the next chapter. I hope you'll like it!

Emma was walking quickly through the dim but beautiful light of the sunset, her shadow huge beneath her feet, and the streets still animated with the citizens moving here and there. It was so different from all the journeys she'd made to go join the Jolly Roger until then, she thought. The city wasn't asleep this time, but she wasn't paying any attention to the groups of people standing around her, laughing or talking enthusiastically about things she couldn't understand. All that mattered on that moment was to go find the man she loved.

She was so happy that she could do this daily trip without hiding anymore, and felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulder. Her happiness was enhanced by the fact that she had her son by her side as well, looking all around him curiously and smiling at how glad he was to finally find his father again. The day that had passed had seemed to last an eternity somehow, because so much had happened in so little time. Her life had shifted once again, but for the best this time. She didn't have to keep these secrets that had made her existence so hard anymore, and their family was going to be reunited very soon. She just couldn't wait.

Henry had had such a good day and it was painted on his face, his grin never leaving him. He'd visited a good part of the castle, had talked with so many new people that had all seemed to love him, and he had very probably spent his best birthday yet. A bond had already begun to grow between him and David, and the King had explained to the little boy everything there was to know about the palace, showing him books and telling stories of secret passages that had made her son's eyes widen in excitement.

He was exhausted now, but he'd still insisted to come back with her to the ship. It would have been so much easier for him to stay in the room that he'd chosen in the castle, but he hadn't wanted to finish his birthday without seeing his dad again. So they'd left together, earlier than usual because she could now leave as soon as she was finished with her shift and didn't have to wait for the couple to have fallen asleep anymore. And she couldn't have been happier that she could finally spend a few more hours with her entire family by her side.

She however hadn't expected to find the figure of her boyfriend waiting for them, standing just outside the city. She recognized him as she was still feet away, and a huge smile spread on her lips. Henry saw him immediately as well, and he started to run to throw himself in his father's arms, screaming "Dad!" all while laughing, as Killian was welcoming him for a hug. Her heart stopped as she was hearing this little word being pronounced once again. It was so beautiful she wasn't sure she would ever get used to it.

She saw her boyfriend grin as well, the emotion written on his face as he was holding his son against him, and she didn't take long to join her two boys. She was so happy to find him again that she instantly came to snuggle against his strong chest, as he was adjusting his position to hold them both at the same time. Her lips found the thin skin of his neck, and she pressed a kiss there before sighing in happiness.

"What are you doing here?" She asked in a low voice, finally feeling home again in his arms.

"I just couldn't wait to find you again." He simply answered.

"I'm glad you came." She stated then, looking up to press a quick but tender kiss on his lips.

"Me too!" Henry added with a huge grin. "I've missed you!"

"I've missed you, too. Both of you." Killian said, dropping a kiss to the top of their son's head. "How was your day, lad?"

"It was great! The King made me visit the castle and they have the biggest library ever! But it wasn't the same without you. I wish you could come with us." Henry sighed slightly, and it was so obvious that he was sad to be apart from his father as well.

"I wish for that too, Henry, but this is impossible for now. It's for a good cause, aye? We'll all be reunited soon. I promise."

"That we will." Emma agreed with a small smile. "We'll do anything for that."

It made the three of them grin widely, and she noticed with relief that Killian's saddened expression had disappeared as he was holding his family close again. Henry pulled away after a minute, moving forward to go join the path that would take them to the Jolly Roger, and they both stayed still for a second, watching their son as they were still tightly wrapped in their embrace. Killian grabbed her waist to pull her even closer, and she rested her head against his shoulder, sighing in pure bliss again. They could finally be seen together, even if they still had to be careful around the couple, and she couldn't have felt better about it. She was finally back in his arms, and everything seemed right in the world again.

"You did such a good job, Swan." He said suddenly, and she looked up to see him more easily, a bit intrigued by his words. "You've raised the most amazing little boy there is."

"We did it together." She corrected with a little smile. "You can be proud of yourself. There is a reason why Henry chose you as his father, and why he called you dad today."

She could see what this reminder was doing to him. His face lit up completely, and she couldn't help but kiss his chin at how adorable he looked. Happiness definitely looked good on him. "Aye. I still can't believe this happened."

"I can." She shrugged. "You've been his dad since day one. You're the best man he could ever have wished for as a role model, and that's why he chose you and not somebody else. He loves you, he trusts you, and we're a family. So it doesn't surprise me that he's called you like that today. You deserve this, more than anyone."

He was about to add something, looking deeply touched by her little statement, but their son turned to them, noticing that they weren't following, and he called cheerfully "What are you doing? Are we going or what?"

Their smiles widened even more, and instead of saying something else, Killian simply dropped a kiss to the tip of her nose before taking her hand and answering their son's request. They walked in silence for a few minutes, Henry a few steps ahead of them as they were just enjoying the wonderful feeling of being together again.

But all of this was also reminding Emma of how sad she was that soon, they would have to be separated yet another time. She didn't want to leave him the next the morning, and yet she knew that she didn't have a choice. So she wanted to make sure that he was taking these changes as well as could be given the situation, and wasn't too sad about the twist that their lives had just taken. It had all been so sudden, and she felt a bit guilty that he had to stay all alone now, because of her.

"Listen, babe." She started in a low voice, and he immediately understood that what she was about to say was serious, because he turned to look at her intently as they were still walking behind their son. "I'm so sorry that everything happened so fast. I'm sorry that I didn't ask for your opinion before telling the couple about Henry. I needed to find something and I just thought that telling the truth was the best thing to do on the moment, but you didn't have a say in anything and I hate that. And I'm also so sorry that because of this, Henry is far from you now and you can't come with us to the castle..."

"Hey, there's nothing to be sorry for." He corrected her, gently squeezing her hand as if to stress his words. "I'm being serious, love. You did what you had to in order to keep your job and keep us safe, and I admire that. And our son is happy, isn't he? That's all that really matters."

"I just..." She sighed. "I don't want you to feel like we're leaving you behind. We never will. We love you too much for that."

"I know, darling." He had a small smile. "I've never doubted that."

"I'll still come back every night, I promise. And Henry said that he would come to meet you as much as he can if it's not too exhausting for him. He told me that he was already missing you." She added, glancing at their son, who was too far from them to hear their conversation.

"I miss both of you too, a lot." He whispered tenderly. "But I also know that you did what was right, and that this is not forever. We'll get to the life we desire soon, I'm sure of it. I'm not mad at you, my love, at all. I admire you for everything that you do every day for our family. And it's only for a little while. It's all worth it if it's to live our dream together afterwards. Everything will be okay eventually."

"I know that." She said, her heart growing in her chest at how damn much she loved this wonderful man. "It will always be alright as long as I'm with you."

Their conversation continued on a lighter tone after that, as he was asking how Henry had reacted when he'd met the couple. She told him everything, making him chuckle several times as he was imagining the scenes she was describing. And soon, they were back on their ship. Back where they truly belonged, the place that had seen them grown, fall in love, become a family. They were finally back home.

It was obvious that Henry wanted to tell his father everything about his day, but he fell asleep all of the sudden as soon as he climbed into bed. Killian spent a few minutes simply watching his son sleep, and she came to wrap her arms around him from behind, trying to silently comfort him. He seemed so sad that he couldn't spend more time with their boy, she just wanted to make him feel better. She felt so sorry that he was the one who had to feel like Henry was slipping through his fingers now, because she knew how painful this was. She just didn't want him to suffer.

So when they got out of Henry's room and arrived on deck under the starlight, she tried to make him feel better by saying with a teasing smile. "You know, the fact that I'm here sooner than usual has a lot of advantages. And there's a very particular one that we didn't explore yet."

"And what might that be, love?" He asked, a little smirk dancing on his lips, telling her that she'd managed to bring a bit of his joy back.

"Well, we have the entire night for ourselves. Hours to spend, just you in me. And I have a pretty good idea of what we could do with all this time."

"Do you, now?" He raised his eyebrows, coming to wrap his arms around her waist to glue her body to his, what made her giggle out loud.

Their lips weren't long to find each other, beginning this familiar and yet still so powerful dance that always brought her to think that she was in the middle of a dream, because what he was making her feel was too damn good to be real. He lifted her up from the ground and she wrapped her legs around him as he was moving to their room without letting go of her once. She smiled against his mouth as she could feel how impatient he was to become one with her, and she happily thought that their night was definitely going to be a good one.

* * *

And then, an odd kind of routine settled as the weeks went by incredibly fast.

Henry was living like a little prince in the castle. Emma was working harder than ever, supporting her employers in the search for the Princess that was still going on as they were trying to think about a solution to make the information travel further into the Enchanted Forest. But her son was a true ray of sunshine in their lives, as if stopping them from losing all hope that they would be reunited with their daughter one day. Emma could tell that the couple was finding in him the child they had never been able to raise together, and they were spoiling him like he was a part of their family. Everyone in the palace adored him, and she was so happy that he'd found his place so easily there.

The little boy would spend hours reading the books that David would recommend to him, telling his mom all about the tales he'd encountered during his time in the library. The King would also teach him how to fight with a wooden sword, and Henry came back from one of these moments one day stating that he wanted to be a knight. Kate and Chiara also loved to take care of her son, and he would spend time with them from time to time. Kate would take him to visit the city, and Chiara would teach him how to bake pastries that he would eat with obvious pleasure afterwards.

Completely caught in the middle of this happiness, Henry's smile was never leaving him anymore. All the pain of the past had seemed to fade away, and he was gaining confidence a bit more every day. He wasn't scared to starve anymore and he had everything that he wanted. He was finally allowed to simply be a kid. And seeing him so happy was making her love her job even more, because everything was worth it if it was to make her son grin like that.

One night, as they'd as always joined Killian on their ship, they all decided together that coming back to the Jolly Roger every day would be too exhausting for the little boy. He was still so young and he needed his rest despite his strong desire to come spend time with his father. Because in spite of his happiness, he missed him terribly and just wanted his family back together for good. But he also needed to stay healthy, and they all knew it all too well.

So they agreed that he would come with his mom to the ship once every two nights and would stay in his room in the castle otherwise, as Emma would come to spend the evening with the man she loved. She trusted the couple and her friend to take care of Henry if he ever needed something, and he was the one who insisted on the fact that he was old enough to stay alone sometimes, without her constantly being by his side. He probably knew that she coudn't stand staying away from Killian for too long. She would probably have gone crazy if she'd forced herself to.

To make up for lost time, about twice a week, Henry would spend the entire afternoon with his father. On those days, she would meet them at night, so happy to see them both with huge smiles on their faces every single time as they were greeting her. She could still read how much this situation was paining Killian at the sadness etched in his eyes for most of the time, now. He would never say anything because he knew that all of this was the best thing to do for now, but she would always try to silently comfort him with a kiss or a tender embrace. She just wanted to show him that she wasn't going anywhere and that soon, everything was going to be okay again.

When they would find themselves alone in their room at night, just the two of them and their desire taking the entire place, she would always try to show him how much she loved him without saying anything, because words just couldn't describe her feelings anymore. Their moments were getting more and more intense, as if they were desperate to feel the other close and become one, to convince themselves that they weren't losing each other. It was getting harder every day to stay away, and she could tell that he was wondering when all of this would finally be over. He just wanted them to be a family again.

She wanted to be with him too, so much, she wanted to live their dream life on the ocean, the one they had been talking about for years. But she was starting to wonder if this would actually happen soon, or if it would just stay hidden in the back of their minds like a precious treasure for years to come. Because she was a bit scared of the unknown, after everything they'd been through in the last year. She'd finally found a good job, her son was happy, and time had passed since what had happened in their former region. Maybe she would end up introducing Killian to the couple after all, so he could come live with them at the castle. She was seriously beginning to think about this possibility as their situation was starting to make her feel like she was going insane.

She wanted to live this adventure with her two boys more than anything, but if she knew that this would happen some day no matter what, she was starting to wonder if they couldn't postpone their plans. Wait until Henry was older, until they were sure that they could be safe to travel the world. They would be okay at the castle all together until then. They would finally have a stable, good life, without having to worry about anything. It was the easy thing to do.

She hadn't talked with Killian about these thoughts that would cross her mind from time to time, though. Deep down, she was feeling guilty to sometimes wonder if this life she was thinking about wasn't better than the one they'd planned. And she also knew that this idea of their future years spent on the ocean was helping Killian to go through these hard times. She didn't want to hurt him, and the issue wasn't presenting itself yet anyway. She still hadn't gathered enough money to go away, so they would have to wait before taking this important decision, to leave or stay safe for a little bit longer.

Fall slowly settled around the city. The leaves took a reddish color, the landscape turned orange and yellow, the wind became colder and the days shorter. The stifling heat of the summer was long gone now, forgotten as she would snuggle against Killian at night to try and stop shivering uncontrollably.

As the weeks went by and as her twenty-ninth birthday slowly approached, the couple finally decided on a solution to warn every citizen of the Enchanted Forest about the search happening to find the Princess. They were refusing to give up and Emma was still deeply convinced that they would end up getting what they deserved, they would end up being reunited with their baby girl. As no impostors dared to come to the castle anymore, they sent messengers everywhere around the world, so they could tell everyone about the meetings organized in the city. Thanks to that new plan and with a bit of chance, the Princess would be back where she belonged in no time. They all prayed for it, anyway.

Emma began to feel like something was off though, and her happiness gradually faded away. Henry seemed happy, but he was missing his dad. And she couldn't keep on living without Killian, she was feeling his distress in her bones at night and she just wanted to stop hurting him. So she finally decided to take a leap of faith. She needed to change the course of things, because it couldn't go on that way. They had suffered too much already. And she was the only one able to fix the mess she'd created.

* * *

It was the day before Emma's birthday. The air was cold, and she wrapped her cloak tighter around her shoulders to keep a little bit warmer as she was walking through the forest. The end of the afternoon was slowly approaching, the sun setting in the sky and the dead leaves cracking beneath her feet. She was walking fast, impatient to go find Killian and finally spend a little time with him before having to go back to the castle for dinner. She was missing him like crazy, and she felt so grateful that the Queen had allowed her to leave sooner than usual in order to go meet with the man she knew as Charles.

A new meeting had happened the day before to discuss the news about the messengers that had been sent all around the Enchanted Forest, but they didn't really know more yet. They were trying to remain hopeful, but Emma and Kate had stayed for a long time with their employers afterwards, just trying to reassure the Queen as she was on the verge of tears. She just wanted to find her little girl back. They'd promised her that everything was going to be alright and that they just needed to be patient. But they were waiting for so long already, it felt like the Princess was lost forever sometimes.

Emma had worked for hours and, exhausted, she hadn't gone to the ship to join Killian the night before. It was the first time this had happened, and she was feeling so bad about it. She would have wanted to go, more than anything, but she'd fallen asleep without noticing it and had awakened at dawn, as it was already too late to walk to the Jolly Roger. She hadn't come, she had left him all alone and she just couldn't imagine how he was feeling now, all because of her. So she just wanted to finally get to him and promise him that she would never do something like that ever again.

She knew that he was probably worried out of his mind that she hadn't given him any news at all, and she'd wanted to get to him much sooner to apologize, but she had obligations she couldn't escape from and she'd had to wait. Now that she'd finally been able to leave the castle, she was almost running to join him. She just wanted to apologize and tell him that she loved him, that what had happened had been an accident.

Pushed by her guilt and the feeling that she couldn't keep on doing all of that for much longer, she'd finally taken the decision to change their lives again. This idea was troubling her mind for weeks, and she knew she needed to act upon it now. They just couldn't keep on being separated anymore. Henry was missing his dad, his absence was leaving a hole in her heart, and she could tell how miserable Killian was to be away from them. So she needed to make sure that they would be happy again, finally. They deserved this after everything they'd been through.

Months had gone by since what they'd done in their former region. She was feeling like it was an eternity ago, in another life, almost. And she was pretty sure that they were safe, now. People had probably forgotten all about them. And since they damn well intended to keep their fake identities for the rest of their lives just in case, the couple could finally meet Killian without putting them in danger at the same time.

She wanted to believe that Killian and her probably weren't even wanted anymore. They needed to be reunited no matter what, even if it hadn't been their initial plan to live in the castle at first. It would only be for a while anyway, until they could decide if they needed to wait until Henry was older to leave or not. But she had to introduce Killian to her employers, now. She needed to fix their situation and their broken hearts.

It was more than time for them to finally be a family again.

She had to admit that she was a bit nervous to go find Killian and tell him what she had in mind. She knew that he was going to be disappointed that she hadn't come the night before, but she would simply explain what had happened and tell him that she couldn't stand this situation anymore. Surely, he would understand that. He was her world, and being away from him was killing her. Two months had passed since Henry had come to join her in the castle, she was working for the couple for a long time, and she just wanted to get the man she loved back. All of this had lasted long enough.

She still knew that it wasn't going to be an easy conversation. She hated herself for probably hurting him by not coming, and she didn't know how he was going to react to the fact that she maybe wanted to postpone their departure for their dream life. But she needed to talk about all of this with him. She couldn't take any of this anymore. And she just hoped he would get what she was feeling, as always. They were soulmates and as long as they were together, she felt like everything would end up being all right. They could overcome anything.

She was panting a bit when she finally reached the harbor. As she'd expected it, since Killian didn't know that she was coming, he wasn't waiting for her on deck this time. She was so impatient, she just wanted him to know that she'd come back for him, that she hadn't abandoned him and that she would never do such a thing. So she yelled "Killian!" at the top of her lungs as she was walking up the boarding ramp, but didn't get any answer. She screamed a few more times again without getting any kind of reaction, and for some reason, a crippling fear suddenly took over her.

She didn't know why she was feeling so scared all of the sudden, because if he wasn't on the ship, he was probably simply in the village, but she was somehow afraid that something had happened to him. Or maybe she was just worried that he was so mad at her for not coming that he'd left their home. She knew deep down that this wasn't the case, but her exhaustion and concern got the better of her, and she ran to their room, hoping that he was there and that nothing bad had occurred during her long absence.

She sighed in relief when she saw his motionless figure laying on the bed of the captain's quarters. Her worry came back in the span of a seconds though, as she realized that it wasn't like him to take a nap in the middle of the day. Maybe he was sick, and she knelt next to him to place a gentle hand against his forehead and make sure that he wasn't running a fever. He seemed fine, and he was breathing peacefully and regularly, not looking like something was off with him at all.

Her heart was still pounding incredibly fast in chest even though she realized that she didn't have to worry about his health, because he was very obviously fine. She just knew that something must have happened for him to fall asleep in the middle of the afternoon like that, and she was also aware that the conversation they were about to share wasn't going to be a pleasant one. But she had to wake him up, so they could finally talk. So they could finally make everything better.

In order not to startle him, she slowly ran her fingers through his dark locks, saying in a low, soft voice. "Killian? It's me, babe, wake up..."

He needed a second to open his eyes, but she felt him shiver under her touch. She continued her strokes for a few more moments, until the blue of his eyes finally met her gaze. She tried to smile, but the expression that she read on his face when he recognized her made her stop. She didn't want to know why he was frowning so deeply, so she placed her hand back on his forehead to ask gently.

"Are you feeling sick? You don't seem to be running a fever, though..."

"No, I'm not sick." He said, and his tone was so cold that she pulled her hand away from his face.

"Why were you sleeping at this hour of the day, then?" She asked in a small voice, blinking in surprise and not understanding his behavior.

"Oh, now you care about what I was doing?" He snapped, sitting up on the bed as she was still kneeling on the floor in front of him. He ran a hand down his face, as if to wake himself up, but she could see the anger etched in his features. She bit her lower lip, waiting for what was next. "I fell asleep because I was exhausted. I waited for you all night, stupidly thinking that you were going to come. That's why you found me like this, Emma."

Her name banged in the air, the little word usually carrying so much love sounding distorted in his mouth. She felt tears appear in her eyes at once, realizing just how mad he was. He was usually never getting that angry at her, and it meant just how much he was suffering from this entire situation. And it killed her, because it was her entire fault if he was feeling that way and she just wanted him to be happy again.

She got up, taking a few steps back and not knowing what to say in order to comfort him, to convince him that she hadn't left him all alone on purpose. Her heart was hammering so fast she was sure he could hear it too. She hated fighting with him, but she also knew that they needed to fix this between them. They stared at each other in silence for a few seconds, the tension making the air thick around them. He was looking at her like he wasn't even recognizing her anymore, and she swore her soul shattered at this observation.

Finally, she managed to pull herself together to answer him and try to make everything okay again. He had every right to be mad, but she just wanted him to know that she loved him and that what had happened had nothing to do with her feelings for him.

"I'm so sorry, Killian. Truly. I don't even know what to say. I screwed up. I was exhausted and I fell asleep last night like a perfect idiot. And I wanted to come sooner, but the Queen wouldn't let me. I'm sorry that I left you like that. I promise you it won't ever happen again. Forgive me?"

He was looking a little less mad now that he'd heard her words, but his blue eyes were still darkened and she got how hurt he was. It made her want to scream. She loved him so much, she had never wanted to cause him any pain and she felt like it was all that she was doing lately, hurt the ones that she loved the most. She didn't know how to make him understand just how sorry she was. She didn't know what to say to make the disappointment disappear from his gaze.

He suddenly stood up from the bed and took a step forward to face her. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, tousling a few dark strands on his way. Her first impulse was to approach him to smooth them back in place, but she held herself back at the last second. She was aware that he was mad, and that this tender gesture had nothing to do in this conversation. He continued to look at her in silence as she was just standing there, not knowing what to do with herself and feeling like she was going to explode. She just wanted to kiss him and whisper how sorry she was a thousand times until he believed her.

He finally started to talk again after a few more horrible seconds, looking straight into her eyes. "The issue isn't there, Swan. I know that you're exhausted, and I'm so sorry about that. You're the one who's working for hours every day, and you still have the strengths to come back here at night and I don't even know how you do it. I can see how tired you are, and I admire you so much. But we have a problem, nonetheless. What bothers me is that you managed to fall asleep at all while you knew that I was waiting for you here. While I can barely close my eyes when you're not by my side."

"It's usually the case for me too, and I'm really sorry. I don't know what happened." She said in a low voice. It broke her heart in half to think about him standing on deck and waiting for her all night, only falling asleep now because he was physically and emotionally exhausted. "I don't know what to say either. I just want you to know that I miss you, too. So much."

"Don't you realize how worried I was? I was scared out of my mind that something had happened to you when I didn't hear anything from you. And I couldn't go to the castle myself to find out what was happening, because we have to hide. It's driving me crazy, Emma."

"I know" She said with tears in her eyes. "I really didn't mean to worry you, Killian, I promise. It was an accident. I love you, please never doubt that. I would never leave you like that on purpose."

He looked at her for a few seconds, as if trying to assess if she was being sincere or not. Then, finally, he said in a whisper. "I'm going mad, staying away from Henry and you like that, Swan."

So, that was it. She could finally see what was below these tender smiles and comforting words that he would tell her at night and she realized how he was truly feeling when he would say that he was okay while it was obviously a lie. Everything was finally coming out, and it was a good thing even if it wasn't pleasant to hear. Because he was trusting her with his pain and it was going to allow her to finally admit how much this situation was hurting her as well. She was horribly torn apart by her own feelings, because her son seemed happy if it wasn't for his dad's absence, because she liked her job while not standing this situation anymore.

She was also going to be able to talk to him about this solution that she'd found to improve their position, to make everything right again. Something felt wrong in her happiness at the castle, and it was because he wasn't there, because she could never be complete without him by her side. So she opened her mouth to tell him that she had an idea, to ask him to come with her so she could introduce him to the couple. They would never have to be separated ever again.

But he started to talk and she got quiet at how sad he sounded, realizing just how much pain he was going through because of this situation. Because of what she'd created. "When will this end, Emma? We said it was only for a little while. You earn a good wage at the castle and it's been months, now. I'm sure that we have enough to survive with our savings, for a while at least. But I can't do this anymore. I can't stand your absence, or the fact that I'm barely seeing Henry at all. I'm trying to be strong because you do all of this for us, but it's too much. I'm lost without you. You bring out the best in me and I feel like I'm not myself when you're not there. When will we finally live this dream together? When will we finally be happy?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about!" She said, and she approached him to get his attention. She just wanted to comfort him because he looked so miserable, she needed to convince him that everything was going to be okay, now. She took his hand and looked into his eyes to continue. "I miss you, too, Killian. More than you'll ever know. This life that I have in the castle, I like it but I could never be happy because you're not there with me. I love you so damn much. Nothing is right without you."

"So why don't you come back, then?" He murmured. "I know you like your job, and I'm happy that you got to work in a safe, loving place. But I feel like we have to save our family. And for that, we have to be together again. I'm sure that we have more than enough gold to survive for months, thanks to you. Please, my Swan, come back to me. I can't do this without you."

Tears were shinning in his beautiful blue eyes and she felt like she was going to start crying as well. She just didn't want to hurt him, and she was scared that he wasn't believing her when she was trying to express how much she missed him too. He was probably feeling abandoned, and this had to end. He was the love of her life, and she refused to continue doing this to him and causing him so much pain.

She cupped his cheek to bring him closer, trying to tell him her love with gestures instead of big speeches, because actions always spoke louder than words. He pressed his face into her palm, as if to convince himself that she was there and wasn't going anywhere. Her voice was muffled with sobs when she started to talk again.

"There is something I have in mind for a while, now. And it's time I tell you about it, because we can't live like this anymore. I think we're safe, you know? It's been a long time since what happened back in our former region. People have forgotten about us, no one knows who we are anymore. So if we keep our fake names, we can go together to the castle. I'll introduce you to the couple. And we'll finally be reunited again."

He didn't answer right away, and the expression that replaced the pain in his gaze wasn't the one she'd expected to see. He didn't look relieved or happy. He looked angry, and she just couldn't understand why. "No." He finally said coldly, and she blinked in surprise. He took a step back to pull away from her, as if he couldn't stand her touch on that moment, and she felt like she'd just been punched in the stomach at how hurtful this was.

Trying to explain his behavior, she started again. "If you're worried, you don't have to be, because we'll be okay. I've thought about it. With our fake identities, everything will be just fine. We're safe now, I'm sure of it. It means you can finally come with me."

"No, you don't get it." He repeated, frowning. "I'm not worried. I just don't want to come to the castle with you."

Emma just stood there for a while, no wanting to believe that she'd heard correctly. She wasn't sure what he meant by that. She'd been so certain that he was going to be happy to hear about her idea, relieved that they could finally be together again. But he was looking at her with something resembling disappointment in his eyes, and she shivered. She was completely stunned, and she was feeling awfully rejected in some way. Why didn't he want to come with her? Wasn't he the one who had said that he couldn't do this without her?

Her mouth felt dry and her voice was shaky when she finally answered. "I'm not sure I understand."

"If we go to the castle together, if I come to live with you, I already know that we'll never get out of there." He said dryly.

"What are you saying?" She shook her head, feeling like his words weren't making any sense at all. "Of course we'll get out of there, someday. Even if it's not right away, because despite what you think we still need this money. But I'll end up leaving my job. Meanwhile, we'll be together at least. Unless you don't want that?" She added accusingly, because she was so hurt by his reaction.

"Of course I want to be with you, Emma!" He cried out, alarmed by her statement. "Bloody hell, I love you, don't you know that by now? But I don't believe a word you say."

"Are you calling me a liar?" She growled, her fists clenched and feeling so angry she could have exploded.

"No. No, Swan, of course not!" He repeated to convince her that he meant it. "I know you're not a liar. You're probably sure that what you're saying is true, but I know that none of this will happen. I know how it's going to go if I come with you. You won't leave your job, simply because you don't want to. You like it there. You don't want to come back to a simple life now that you tasted the pleasure of living in a palace."

That was so unfair she felt like she was going to punch the wall. Her heart was racing and she couldn't believe he'd just said something so incredibly wrong. "Excuse me? Are you being serious, right now? Do you realize the insanity of what you're saying? Do you realize that you're insinuating I would choose luxury over you, my own family?"

"It's not what I meant." He tempered, looking genuinely touched by her anger and she let out a long breath, trying to calm down. "I'm sorry that it came out wrong. What I mean is that you're feeling accepted there, you're finally receiving the treatment that you truly deserve. And I'm happy that you got to live something so powerful, I truly am because all I want is for you to be happy. But I also feel like it would be hard for you to leave this job, to come back to our family. And it's hurting me because I thought we meant more than that to you."

"You're wrong!" She shouted. "If I have to choose between you and being the assistant, you know damn well that you win every single time! You know how important Henry and you are for me! You know that all I want is to protect you, and make you happy! So don't you dare say things like that, because it's unfair and you know it!"

"You're saying this now, but I'm not sure that if this argument goes on and I decide to give you an ultimatum, you'll be ready to leave everything behind to be with me again."

Silence fell around them for a while, their voices still ringing against the walls. The air was thick with anger and a kind of vague resentment that had stayed hidden for too long and that was finally exploding now. She swallowed hardly, feeling like she wasn't recognizing him anymore. It scared her, to hear him say things like that, because it was so not like him. He seemed to notice how mad she was though, because his features softened as he waited for her to answer.

When she opened her mouth again, her voice was low, contrasting with the screams that had been exchanged earlier. "You won't give me an ultimatum. Or you're not the man I fell in love with."

"You're right." He nodded. "I shouldn't have said that. I won't ever do something of the sort to you. I respect you too much for that."

"Good." She said coldly. The few steps that were separating them felt like miles, because he seemed so out of reach on that moment and it was driving her insane.

"You still didn't give me a clear answer." He insisted, more gently this time.

"Henry is happy at the castle." She said, more calmly as well because she knew that screaming at him wasn't going to solve anything. "For the first time in his life, he has everything he needs and everything he wants. He's finally got what he deserves, and the only thing that is missing is you. I can't take that away from him. I can't be the reason why he loses his smile."

"You talk about Henry, but still not about you. Admit that you don't want to leave the palace. You just don't want to say it out loud because you promised that it would only be temporary, and you want to break this promise now. Just say it, though, please. I need to hear it."

"You're so damn wrong!" She got mad again. "You have no idea what's going on, do you? Why are you acting that way? Why are you being such a jerk?"

"Because I bloody miss you and I feel like you're not feeling the same way about me!" He snapped.

"How can you say that?" She answered with sobs in her voice. "How dare you? Don't you know that I want to be with you more than anything, that I wish we could become the family we once were? Don't you know how much I love you? You're acting like I'm betraying you, but I'm not! I'm just trying to fix things!"

"So come back!" He said, in an almost pleading voice. "Come back, and we'll fix this. We can do anything together."

"But why do you care where we live, anyway?" She continued, her voice coming out all shaky and broken. "Why is it important the job that we have, the room that we sleep in, as long as we're together?"

"It matters because we promised to live this dream together, Emma!"

"We can wait for it, until Henry is older. Until we're safe and we know that we have enough gold to survive and never be in the same position we once were."

"It won't happen, and I know it." He said almost sadly. "You don't want to anymore."

"You don't have any idea of what's happening inside my head, so don't you dare say that! You have no clue of how much this entire situation hurts me too! I know you're in pain and you think it's not my case, but my heart is broken, Killian, damn it! I just want you back!"

"I want you back, too." He said in a softer tone. "But I feel like it won't ever be the same again."

"Only because you don't let it! I don't get it! You said you didn't care of where we were as long as we were together, all those months ago when we got here. You were even ready to sell the Jolly Roger. You said that as long as I was with you, you were home! Where did this go? Why did you change your mind? Were you lying this all time?"

Her voice broke on the last sentence and her shoulders shook with the violence of her sobs. She knew he was only reacting that way because he was hurt, but she felt like she was not enough for him on that moment, like everything he'd ever told her had only been a lie. She was aware that deep down, he didn't mean any of what he was saying, but she was in such pain she felt like she could drown in her own tears. She just didn't want to lose him.

She sank her head into her hands for a second, trying to calm herself down and continue their conversation. She wouldn't run from this, no matter how much she wanted to because it was too much. She wanted to fix things, even if it felt like they'd gone too far this time.

When she looked up, she saw the pain that had appeared in his eyes to see her cry like that. He suddenly moved, taking a step in her direction, probably to take her in his arms and comfort her, but she didn't feel ready for that just yet. She took a step back and he stopped right away, looking at her with such sorrow she wanted to scream. He didn't look angry at all anymore, just deeply sad and it killed her. His voice was shaking too when he finally answered her.

"I meant it, Swan. I've never lied to you. But I don't feel the same way anymore, simply because we barely see each other now. I feel like I don't even know you anymore. I feel like you're slipping through my fingers and I can't do anything about it. It's driving me crazy. How could I believe in our future if you're not by my side anymore? How could I be sure that we'll be all right if I don't even recognize the woman that I love?"

She opened her mouth to answer, trying to fight against her sobs. She just wanted to promise him that things could be okay again. She wanted to swear that everything could go back to the way it once was. She was about to tell him that she loved Henry and him more than anything, and that she was ready to lose everything that she had to get them back together, because they were the most important things in the world. Screw the castle life if it meant that they could be okay together. They were the center of her universe, and she was ready to prove it.

But her eyes suddenly met the window of the room, and she realized that the sun was already setting in the sky in an explosion of red and orange. Her heart skipped a beat in worry. She hadn't realized that it was this late already. One of the conditions for her to be allowed to get out of the castle every night was that she had to come back on time for her appointments, and she'd promised that she would be there for dinner. She hated the fact that she had to leave in the middle of an argument, she couldn't bear it when they were mad at each other, but she had to. Even if she ended up leaving her job after all, it had to be her choice and she was refusing to get fired. So she was forced to go.

She wiped off the tears that were still rolling down her cheeks and said in a muffled voice. "I'm sorry, I have to leave. I promised Henry that I would get back in time for dinner. I can't be late."

She didn't wait for an answer. She refused to look at him just to see his eyes silently asking her why she was abandoning him like that. She was still crying and she almost ran to get back on deck, barely seeing through her tears. She didn't want to leave him after what had been said and she was scared that she'd broken something that couldn't be fixed. But she was also so hurt by his words, maybe it was a good thing for them to cool down on their own and talk about all of that calmly afterwards. She wanted to believe it, anyway.

But he was obviously not agreeing with this decision. He ran after her and called her name, gently grabbing her hand to pull her back to him. Her fingers squeezed his on their own, and she heard at the tone of his voice that he was completely devastated by the situation. "Emma, please wait."

She turned to him, knowing that she just couldn't leave him that way. When she looked up to meet his eyes, she saw a tear rolling down his cheek, and as an answer, another sob shook her shoulders. Their hands stayed there, holding onto each other, as if they were trying to convince themselves that they would end up fixing this.

"Please, don't go." He continued in a small voice. "I can't lose you..."

She ignored everything that had just happened between them, then. She chose to forget about the words that had been said and how much he'd hurt her. She just needed to comfort him, because seeing him like that was unbearable. So she cupped his face and placed her forehead against his, their lips touching gently. The wind was cold and was making her hair fly in her back, but she couldn't have cared less. She was burning with the desire to make him understand that they weren't losing each other and that it would never happen.

"I promise you, Killian Jones, I promise you that you will never lose me. Not today, not tomorrow, not in a thousand years. I love you, so much, and I'm sorry that you've thought otherwise even for a second. You make me the best version of myself every single day, and we're in this for life, you hear me? I love you more than a job, more than everything that I could ever have at the castle. Damn it, Killian, I love you more than life itself. Do you understand me? I'll do everything, absolutely everything to keep you by my side. I'm not abandoning you. Never."

He closed his eyes and they stayed like this, forehead against forehead, their breaths mingling and their noses brushing against each other, as if they were trying to make sure that all of this was real by keeping close. A single tear was still rolling down his cheek when he finally started to talk again, his hand coming to kindly play with her hair.

"I'm so sorry, love. Gods, please forgive me. I didn't mean any of the horrible things I said to you. I love you too, so bloody much, and that's why I'm scared to lose you. The thing is, I'm lost without you. Your absence brings the worst in me. I'm so, so sorry. What I said was so selfish."

"I'm sorry, too. It's okay." She said in a small voice. "We're okay."

"No, it's not." He gently corrected her. "All I want is for you to be happy, and for us to be together again. If going to the castle is what it takes, then be it. You were absolutely right before. You're my home, wherever we are. I love you so damn much, my beautiful, perfect lass."

"I'm not lying when I say that I want this life on the ocean with you." She sniffed discreetly "I'm just scared, because we're finally safe somewhere and I don't want us to be in danger again. But we'll go, no matter when, it'll happen. I know it. There's no other choice."

"Henry really is happy at the castle, right?" He asked then, his hand spread wide in her back now as if he wanted to hold as much of her as he possibly could.

"Yeah. The only thing that misses to his happiness is you. You should see him smile when he's in the library, or simply talking with the royal couple. Everyone adores him."

"I wish I could witness his happiness." He whispered. "I just feel like I don't ever see him anymore. Or you."

"We'll fix this. I swear to you." She kept her hand on his cheek but finally pulled away to be able to look at him in the eyes. "But I really want you to come with me. Even if it's only for today and we decide to leave after that. The couple needs to meet you, now. It's the right thing to do. They need to know that you're my world. Can I talk to them about you ? Can I ask for their permission to bring you with me tomorrow?"

"Aye." He finally murmured after a second of silence. "You're right. The happiness of our family is worth way more than a life on the ocean. I just need to know that you mean it when you say that you want to live this dream with me someday. I need to know that you're not saying this because you feel like it's what I want to hear."

"I promise." She said with all the strength left in her. "I want to travel the world with you. I just want us to be safe first."

"It's all I needed to hear." He said in a strangled voice.

"I love you." She said against his lips, before kissing him senseless on the spot. "I love you so much." She repeated as they were parting only to relieve their lungs screaming for oxygen.

"I love you too, my darling."

They spent a while just kissing on the deck of their ship, as if to seal this promise to never let go and to heal their broken hearts after their argument. "Please, don't cry, my love." he whispered to her as one last tear was rolling down her cheek. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for hurting you."

"I'm sorry too." She answered in a shaky voice. "I never wanted to cause you any pain"

Her hands traveled his body as she was feeling like she was somehow getting him back after weeks of unspoken tension between them. Everything had finally been said, and if it hadn't been easy to hear, now they were finally okay. It was all that mattered.

She ended up realizing that she really needed to go, or she was going to be late and she couldn't let that happen. She reluctantly pulled a little bit away, but left her hand tangled in his hair as she was looking into the gorgeous blue of his eyes. "We'll make things better. I'm going to talk about you at dinner tonight, all right? You can come with me to the castle tomorrow morning. Henry is going to be so happy that you're back, I can already see his smile."

"I can't wait." He finally said, pressing one last kiss to her lips and still holding her hand because he just didn't want her to go. "I'll see you tonight."

"Promise. I'll never leave you again" She answered, and as she was pulling away for good, he brought her hand to his lips to press a kiss on her knuckles. The gesture was so sweet it made her want to cry again, and letting go of his fingers after that felt like the hardest thing she'd ever had to do.

They shared one last glance filled with the endless love they had for each other, then she finally turned away to go. She had an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach, a mix between contradictory thoughts that was making her dizzy.

She was still shaken up by the argument they'd just had, even if they were okay now and she knew he hadn't meant what he'd said. She was so relieved to think that it was probably the last time they had to part ways like that. But she was also scared, for a reason that she couldn't understand. She was feeling exactly like when the couple had discovered Henry's existence two months prior to that moment, and she couldn't understand why she was so worried. Nothing bad was going to happen. She was just finally going to tell the truth.

Little did she know that her instincts were as always right, and that everything was about to change again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I said before, I felt like it was important for Emma and Killian to say all those things. They're only humans and they got through so much, so I felt like it was normal for them to be angry. Everything's okay now though, until the next chapter at least. Big things are coming and I can't wait to share them with you! See you very soon!


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Soooooo... Here's the big chapter! I can't wait for you to read it and I'm very excited to hear about your thoughts on what's happening here. I feel so grateful for your support, and I have so many things in plan for this story, it's far from being over! I hope you'll like what I have in store hehe!

Emma ran all the way to the castle, knowing that she was already late and that she couldn't get in trouble for not coming back on time. Not now, not as she was so close to finally bring her family together again after months of separation. Her exhaustion was completely forgotten at the marvelous idea that it was the last time she was making this journey without Killian by her side. They'd finally agreed on what their future would be. It didn't matter if they lived on the ocean, in a castle, or on the other side of the world. As long as they were together, everything would be fine. And they would never have to live apart ways again.

She'd missed him so damn much that this prospect of finally having him back was giving her wings. The fight they'd just gone through had upset her, she had to admit it, but they were fine now and she just couldn't wait to be back in his arms. They'd suffered too much already and they had to change that. And she simply wanted to get to the palace, so she could tell her employers that she'd finally taken the decision to bring the man she loved along with her. With a bit of luck, she would wake up on her birthday buried in his familiar embrace, and they wouldn't have to hide anymore. This was the best gift she could ever have wished for.

But, once again, as if she were cursed and could never live peacefully, nothing went as planned. Everything shifted once again, the change so incredibly unsettling that she suddenly found herself unsure of who she really was. This life that she was imagining beside Henry and Killian at the castle, taking care of the Princess and supporting the couple, crumbled before her eyes. And the immensity of the events left her completely and horribly helpless.

She reached her destination quite quickly. Caught in the happiness of finally having fixed things with Killian, she absently went to walk through the front gates, expecting the guards to greet her with their usual smiles and friendly words. She would sometimes stop to share a few banalities with them, but she wasn't planning to this time, since she had to get inside fast. She wasn't worried about anything, wasn't prepared to face any hardships, and what happened left her at a loss for words as she didn't know how she could react to the situation she now had to face.

She indeed almost ran into one of the guards and needed a second to realize that he was actually trying to stop her from entering the castle. Intrigued, she looked up to meet the familiar gaze of one of the older keepers of the palace, Frederic. He'd always been really nice to her, and she frowned when she saw the suspicious expression written on his face. It didn't make any sense to her, and she just couldn't grasp the reason why he was suddenly staring at her like she was a danger to the safety of her employers.

"Is everything okay?" She asked in a small voice, a crippling fear she couldn't quite get taking over her all of the sudden.

He didn't answer anything and he didn't move a muscle, looking down at her with his jaw clenched. She blinked, her heart racing and feeling a danger approaching, even though she had no clue of what all of this was about. After a moment, Frederic finally gestured to his colleague, Gabe, who immediately came to stand beside her without saying a word either.

Emma felt horribly threatened under the stares of these once friendly people that had turned so suspicious of her for something she just couldn't understand. Her first impulse was to take a step back because it felt like the only thing left to do. She so wanted to know what the hell was wrong with them. She didn't feel like she'd done anything wrong. They weren't actually behaving that way because she was a bit late, were they? That definitely seemed a bit excessive for the situation.

She stuttered a bit when she opened her mouth again, because she was feeling like something very bad was about to happen and it was horrifying not to know anything about it "Guys? What's going on?"

She only got silence in return. A thick, heavy quiet that made her want to run away, but she would never have done such a thing. Henry was inside, and whatever was happening, she had to get to him. It's as she was thinking about her son that the two men suddenly moved at the exact same time, taking her by surprise. They grabbed both her arms, as if to stop her from escaping something she knew nothing about, and squeezed so hard she winced in pain.

The violence of the gesture made her want to throw up. A flash blinded her for an awful second and her heart hammered against her ribs as images of her past were making their way to her again. Her teenage self, a still childlike face frozen in terror. Tall men mercilessly dragging her behind them through the forest, as she was praying for Neal to finally arrive and get her. He'd never come. Why did she have the horrifying feeling that she was reliving the exact same thing while she'd done nothing wrong, and why did she feel the sudden and urgent need to sob like her younger self had done in the same situation?

She tried to get away from the guards but failed, and she quickly gave up on that idea. It would have been an unfair fight since they were two against her, but that wouldn't have stopped her if she'd been alone. She knew how to defend herself and would probably have managed to escape. But she couldn't do that and, more importantly, she didn't want to. She wouldn't get out of this palace without her son by her side. He was more important than anything else.

And she wanted to understand, too. What was happening was confusing her beyond words. Everything had seemed fine when she'd left the castle barely a couple of hours before, so why were these people suddenly treating her like a criminal ? She had no idea of what was going on, but she was pretty sure that they were obeying an order given by the Queen. And she just wanted to know why she was now being dragged behind these two men while nothing at all had happened. Maybe she could talk with her employer and convince her that all of this was a big misunderstanding. Whatever she was accusing her of, she was probably innocent.

Still, she somehow guessed what this was all about even without any explanation coming from her wardens. There was only one reason why they would treat her that way, and she wasn't stupid. But she didn't want to accept this idea and admit that everything had just collapsed again. She would have crumbled right there, and she needed to stay strong. She needed to protect herself so she could deal with the situation, even if her past had caught up with her after all this time while she was least expecting it.

So she let the guards take her to the hallway, then urge her up the stairs. The few other employees they crossed path with looked at her with a hint of disappointment shinning in their gazes, and she felt a shiver running up her spine in apprehension. The entire way took place in a thick silence, the two men behaving like she was going to face her trial. Maybe it was the case, she thought. Maybe she was going to be judged by the King and Queen and would have to explain herself.

Gods, she really didn't want to do this.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Frederic opened her bedroom's door to push her in. Emma saw the royal couple standing in a corner, but didn't try to ask them what was going on and didn't even pay any attention to them at all. Her entire being was suddenly focused on her little boy, who was sitting on her bed and looking right at her. He seemed horribly worried and his eyes were reddened with the tears he'd shed. He wasn't held prisoner and didn't seem physically hurt, but he looked terrified. Despite his expression that deeply concerned her, she felt so relieved to see that he was okay and that nothing had happened to him at least.

After a second of silence, he jumped off the mattress and ran to her. She wanted to take him in her arms and promise him that everything was going to be okay, but the guards didn't let her do any of this. They held her a bit tighter to stop her from moving, and dragged her to the corner of the canopy bed, chaining her to one of the bronze bars before she'd had the chance to say anything. The steel bit her wrist but she couldn't have cared less, and she immediately moved to face her son again.

She didn't look at the keepers as they were leaving the room without saying a word and didn't bother to glance at Snow and David, even though she could feel their furious stares burning on her skin. The chains were holding her back and she struggled a bit, but she managed to spread her free arm wide to welcome her son into her embrace. The position was uncomfortable and the skin of her arm was burning, but Henry came to snuggle against her and, suddenly, he was the only thing that mattered in the world.

"Are you okay, kid?" She whispered to his ear, stroking his back as he was slightly shaking against her. "Are you hurt?"

He simply shook his head and she could tell how horribly scared he was. He must have been terrified, all alone there while the couple was waiting for her to come back, and she felt so guilty that he'd been on his own to face this situation. She'd trusted the Queen to take care of him while she was gone, but had very obviously been wrong. And she felt so angry all of the sudden, not because of her own situation, but because of what they'd done to Henry. No one hurt her little boy.

She kissed the top of her son's head and promised, even though she had no clue of what was going to come next. "It's alright, kiddo, I'm here, now. You're safe. You're okay." Feeling that her words were managing to calm him down a little, she added after a minute, pulling a little bit away to look at him. "What happened?"

"Oh, we're going to talk about that, all right." David said then and she shivered, finally looking up at him.

His voice was so cold she could barely recognize it. She was suddenly brought back to this moment when the couple had discovered that she was sneaking out of the castle at night, except that this time it seemed much worse, because the King was looking at her with so much anger she felt her heart skipping a beat. He took a step forward, closely followed by his wife. When Emma met Snow's gaze, her chest tightened and she felt like she was going to cry. The trust she'd once read in her eyes had been replaced by disappointment, contempt, almost. Whatever they knew about her, it probably wasn't pretty.

She stood straight again to face them despite how afraid she was of what was going to be said in the next few minutes, and she kept her arm wrapped around Henry's shoulders. She had to explain herself, because if the most important thing right now was to comfort her son, she also knew that she had to get them out of there. She couldn't be held prisoner, not after everything she'd done to keep her family safe.

"Henry, leave the room, please. You can go wait in the library while we talk" Snow ordered, her usually friendly tone all gone, making Henry stiffen in fear.

Emma suddenly realized that even if they were now treating her like a criminal, they obviously wanted to keep her son out of this mess. The affection they had for him hadn't changed at all, and she knew that they wouldn't hurt him. Still, she didn't want to let him go, and the way he was holding onto her told her that he was feeling the same way. She was scared that they would try to separate them forever, and she couldn't take that risk. So despite her dangerous situation, she said firmly, looking straight into Snow's eyes.

"No, he's staying with me."

"Don't discuss it." The Queen said in a harsh voice that Emma had never heard coming from her before. "You're not in a position to ask for anything, believe me."

"No" She still repeated, refusing to surrender. "Henry is staying right beside me, or I won't have a conversation with you. I won't let you separate us."

She kept on looking at the couple, as if defying them to argue with her. Snow sighed slightly, and she shared a glance with her husband for a minute. When she turned back to face her, Emma understood that she'd won and that they were allowing Henry to stay with her. She let out a relieved breath and ran her fingers through her son's hair to calm him down. At least, they were still together. Nothing would happen to him as long as she was there.

She was curious to know more though, so she insisted as the couple was still staring at her in silence, just wanting to be sure of what was happening in order to get ready to face whatever they were about to throw at her. "What's going on? Why am I chained to the bed?"

"Oh, I think you know quite well." David answered vaguely.

"Humor me." She replied, getting more and more nervous.

"What's happening is that you've lied to us since day one."

Snow had spat out the words and Emma blinked in surprise, feeling like she'd just been punched in the stomach. She knew she had to pretend that she wasn't understanding a word of what the Queen was saying, but this was too much for her. Despite the vague statement she'd received, she wasn't stupid and she'd got it.

They knew.

They knew and she was in danger. Her entire family was, because of her.

She did the best she could to keep calm, but she felt the colors leaving her face as she was suddenly getting dizzy. She couldn't believe this was happening, all while she'd been sure that she was finally safe. If they really were aware of what she'd done in her past, she was going to end up in a cell while she'd fought for months to avoid this possibility. She was going to be separated from her family, and this thought made her sick.

She wouldn't let them do such a thing, she decided as she'd forgotten how to breathe. She wouldn't let them destroy everything that she'd tried to build, all because a horrible mistake that she'd made almost one year prior to that moment. So she tried to look surprised and she shook her head, saying in a small voice. "I have no idea what you're talking about. This must all be a huge misunderstanding."

"Oh, is it, now? So, in your opinion, this is a misunderstanding too,  _Swan_?"

David pronounced her real name with so much hate in his voice that she felt like she was going to fall over. Henry snuggled a bit closer to her, obviously terrified and, ignoring her own fears, she held him tight to try and show him that she was going to fix this. Because she wasn't going to let them take their future away. She knew what would happen if she failed to convince the couple that she was innocent. So she needed to find something, anything, to try and make them think that they were wrong about her.

But she suddenly noticed the parchment that David was holding in his clenched fist. She couldn't see what was written on it, but she already knew. Not giving her the time to say anything else, the King unrolled it with shaky movements and practically shoved it to her face. With her free hand, she took the piece of paper and read what was on it, tears instantly appearing in her eyes at how painful this all was.

Her portrait was drawn on the poster, her own eyes staring back at her. It was incredibly accurate, and getting her employers to believe that she wasn't the one represented on this paper was impossible, she already knew it. She read what was written in huge black letters then, the message horribly threatening : " _Swan. Wanted for thefts and murder. Dangerous. Big reward. Alive or dead_."

She could already guess what had happened without the couple having to tell her anything. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought about this possibility of a danger sooner, and she silently cursed herself for being so oblivious to what was really going on. So much for thinking that she was safe. Now all the fears that she'd ever had were becoming true and she was feeling like she was drowning.

One of the messengers that had traveled the Enchanted Forest to tell everyone about the search for the Princess, had most probably crossed path with one of these posters. Everyone knew her in the castle now, and they'd certainly recognized her right away. So they'd taken it to show the King and Queen and tell them all about who she really was. And now they knew she'd lied about everything. They knew that she was a murderer.

She tried to quickly decide what was the best thing to do on that moment, but her heart was pounding so fast she felt like she was going to faint. She couldn't lie to the couple again, it was only going to make them angrier. She needed to find a plan, to be able to get away from this. And, finally, she realized that she had an advantage : they didn't know everything yet.

They obviously weren't aware that Killian was wanted too, and that he was the man she was living with. They'd never seen him and didn't know who he was. If the worst had to happen and if she ended up getting locked up for the rest of her life, Henry could still run away from the castle and go join his father. They could leave together, take fake identities again and start over.

It was going to be incredibly hard, she knew it all too well. Being separated from them was going to drive her insane, and finding herself all alone in a cell, just like she was at seventeen, was probably going to test her sanity. But knowing that the two people she loved the most were safe and sound would help her get through this. She also knew that trying to convince her family to leave without her was going to be almost impossible, but this was their only chance. It was the best thing to do, for now. They needed to be alright, with or without her.

And if she wasn't sentenced to death or condemned to stay in her cell for the rest of eternity, she would find them, wherever they were. In one, two, five or ten years, they would end up being reunited again. It was the worst case scenario, anyway. She still hoped that she would manage to convince the couple that she wasn't dangerous. But at least, if they still didn't believe her, she had a plan for her family. And this thought helped her to pull herself together in order to continue this conversation and try to fix this mess.

She started to talk again and gave the paper roll back to David, looking straight at him to try and convince him that she was being sincere. "It's not what you think it is."

"So, you're not a thief?" He said in an almost mocking tone.

"I was, but..." She said, trying to defend herself, but he cut her off aggressively.

"And you didn't kill somebody?"

"I did, but it wasn't..."

"And what about the fact that you lied to us about your identity?"

"I did lie, but..."

"So everything that is written on this poster is true and you're a wanted murderer?"

"Listen to me, for God's sake!" She cried out, infuriated.

She knew that getting mad really wasn't a good idea given her situation, and yet she hadn't been able to hold herself back. She just wanted to explain what had really happened, to tell the entire truth now and hope for the best, and these questions he was asking her without waiting for an answer were making her furious. She wasn't a bad person, and they needed to understand that. She'd just made mistakes along the way, terrible ones, but all she wanted was for her family to be happy and safe. They would have done the same for each other and their daughter, she was so sure of it.

She took advantage of the stunned silence that followed her last words, as the couple was looking at her with wide eyes, obviously surprised that she'd dared to interrupt them. She took a deep breath and tried to calm down, because losing her temper wasn't the best way to convince them that she wasn't dangerous. She simply wanted to tell them everything, for real this time, so they wouldn't get the wrong idea about her. The steel of her chains was cutting deep into her skin, but she didn't care. She needed to get herself out of this nightmare.

"I've done everything that's written on this damn poster, but don't you think that I don't regret it. I've been forced to act that way, and you have no idea how much it's haunting me. The thefts were the only things I found in order to survive in the streets. I did get adopted for a few years, but I quickly found myself all alone, without a family to take care of me. I was just a child. I went to jail for this. And then, while I'd managed to get my life back on track, I lost my job in the tavern I was working in."

Emma was glad to notice that the couple was intently listening to her now, looking a bit overwhelmed by everything that she was finally confessing. She took the time to breathe a few times before continuing, knowing that talking about her past wasn't going to be an easy task after trying to bury it for so long. "I was unable to find another job because I'm a former beggar and thief and no one wanted me. So I had to steal again. It was that or we would have starved, and I couldn't let that happen. I'm a mom, and protecting my child is the most important thing. Surely, you can understand that."

The Queen nodded discreetly, and Emma drew the courage she was lacking to continue from this small encouraging gesture. "I wanted to start anew, move out somewhere else and earn money there, but for that I needed gold. I'm not proud of what I did, but I stole a bracelet to sell it to the black market and get what I needed in order to survive. I got caught, I tried to run, and I ended up killing a man that day."

Talking about this moment sent a shiver up her spine. This memory was going to haunt her forever and she was well aware of it. "It was an accident. He tried to hurt Henry's father and I needed to protect him. I couldn't let this man harm someone I love. I couldn't lose somebody else, and I acted without thinking about what I was doing. He died, and it haunts me every night ever since. If you think that I like what happened that day, you are so wrong. This man is dead because of me, but I just couldn't let him break my family. They're all I have."

The couple was still staring at her, their heads titled and waiting for her to finish. Summing up almost one year of her life so fast was feeling surreal, but she knew she didn't have time to linger on the details. She needed to persuade them that she wasn't a danger as fast as she possibly could. "So after that, to avoid getting separated from the people I love, I took a fake identity and we moved here. We started completely fresh. The job as the assistant was our best shot at a better life. We just wanted to have a chance to be happy."

A long silence followed her little speech. She was panting a bit, all those revelations making her dizzy because her mind was refusing to believe that this was happening. She'd been terrified at first, scared that something bad was going to happen, sad that the couple was now looking at her like she was a criminal, but not anymore. Now, she was just feeling numb and she patiently waited for the next part of their discussion without adding anything. This couldn't really get any worse, anyway.

Emma suddenly noticed that Snow's expression had softened a little bit. David's hadn't, though, and he was still looking at her with pure anger etched in his features, as if she were the worst person that he'd ever encountered and her story wasn't of any kind of importance to him. He just knew that she'd killed someone and didn't care about the rest, and she was aware that it wasn't going to be easy to safely get out of this entire situation. But she had to try, anyway. She couldn't let them separate her from those she loved.

Finally, he started again in a cold, severe tone "And how can you prove that all of this is true and that you're not lying to us once again? You've lied about everything up until now. Maybe you're just trying to hurt us, and that's why you came here in the first place, to gain our trust and betray us afterwards. Maybe you want to steal something, or even kill us for a reason I cannot understand. You've killed someone already. We know you're capable of it."

It hurt to witness him using her past against her so mercilessly, and she felt so angry all of the sudden, because hurting these people was inconceivable and she couldn't believe that he was doubting her. "I'm not here to hurt you! I just wanted to start anew as Leia Stark, because I didn't want my past to keep me from living a good life after everything I'd been through!"

"And how can we be sure that you're telling the truth?" He insisted, his arms folded and eyeing her warily.

"Well, because I'm working here for months and if I'd wanted to hurt you or steal something, I would have done it a long time ago. I never wanted to cause you any harm!"

"I don't know about that. I can't trust anything you say anymore. I think your place is in one of our cells." He spat out, and she felt her heart skipping a beat as Henry was holding her a little bit closer, terrified by the King's last statement.

"David!" Snow cried out then, interrupting their argument.

They all turned to look at her at the same time, surprised by the tone of her voice. She looked like she had something very important to tell her husband, because she was staring at him intensely, her green eyes shinning with determination. Emma was slowly feeling the trap closing around her. She knew that she was probably going to face a trial and get locked up for her crimes, but in some strange way, the Queen's intervention gave her hope. She didn't know why she was feeling that way, but she knew this moment could change her entire future.

David looked at his wife, shaking his head in confusion. She continued confidently without paying any attention to his stunned expression. "Don't you think that you're being a bit unfair to her?" Emma blinked in surprise at the words. She definitely hadn't expected this to happen. Was the Queen actually defending her after everything she'd done?

"Unfair?" The King repeated in disbelief. "Are you serious? Snow, she's a murderer!" The words banged in Emma's ears, making her want to throw up. She hated the fact that they were seeing her that way, and all the guilt she'd fought so hard to keep at bay was coming back to her at once.

"She did kill someone, but it's not like she wanted to do so. She did it to protect those she loves. Maybe we should just let her go. She has a family, David. I don't want to deprive a child of his mother."

"And what if she hurts someone else because we let her go free out there?" Her husband protested. "It'd be our entire fault!"

"You seem to forget that I've been a thief, too." Snow answered seriously.

Emma's mouth gaped open in surprise, and she needed a second to recall that she'd actually heard about the Queen's past before. Her story was Henry's favorite after all, and she could remember that in the tales her son had made her read to him so many times, Snow White had been forced to steal in order to survive as well. Maybe they weren't that different from each other, after all. They definitely shared some surprising things.

David looked at his wife, obviously touched by her statement. He didn't seem ready to give up on the idea of punishing Emma for her past though, and she guessed how mad he was at her. They'd been friends before, he'd trusted her, and all of that had faded away now. Nothing would ever be the same after this.

"But you didn't kill somebody!" the King objected after a second of silence.

"I didn't, you're right, but imagine this, David." The Queen tempered "Imagine that someone was about to hurt me. Would you hesitate to kill this person if it meant it could save my life?"

David's expression softened and the anger in his eyes was replaced by sadness at the image of his love being in danger. Emma was now feeling like she wasn't a part of the conversation anymore. They were both discussing about her fate like she wasn't even there, and she already knew she couldn't make them change their mind. She needed to let the Queen talk before she tried anything else. Snow truly seemed ready to let her go, and she prayed that she would manage to convince David too.

She wrapped her arm a little bit tighter around Henry, trying to comfort him as she could feel him shiver uncontrollably. He was terrified, the conversation was scaring him beyond words, and she just wished that she hadn't brought him into this mess. But she was going to make sure that he was okay, no matter what happened to her. She would protect him with her life.

"She did all of that to make sure that her loved ones were safe" Snow continued. "She's simply ready to do anything to protect her family, and if she's made a terrible mistake, I know I would probably have done the same thing if you'd been the one in danger. She's right when she says that she would have hurt us already if she'd wanted to. She's helped me a lot, David. She truly kept me sane during all those meetings to try and find our daughter. She's not a bad person, I'm so sure of it."

"And how can you know that she isn't lying again? She could be manipulating us to try and get what she wants."

Forgetting her desire to stay discreet and leave the couple to talk about her together, Emma opened her mouth to protest. She couldn't let them think that she was out there to kill people, what had happened had simply been an accident and it was haunting her every day, but she didn't want to hurt anyone. They had to understand that, she wouldn't let them believe otherwise.

But Snow suddenly turned to her and she grew quiet, knowing that something important was about to happen. The Queen was looking at her seriously, but she read no hate in her gaze. It was obvious that despite everything she'd done, she still had affection for her somehow, and she didn't want her to be left rotting in a cell for the rest of her life. Emma's employer then stepped forward to approach her, and she stood still for a second before finally starting to talk.

"I want you to tell us the entire truth, this time. Forget about all the lies you've created since you got here. You've said a bit already, but I want to know what really happened in your life. It's important."

"All right." Emma agreed, knowing all too well that coming clean was probably her only chance of getting out of this right now. She didn't want to lie anymore, anyway. She didn't have anything else to lose.

She took a deep breath, trying to muster the courage to come back to this dark past that seemed to follow her wherever she was trying to go. Talking about it was always painful, but the couple deserved to know. They looked pretty impatient, too. David seemed about to explode, ready to judge her at any mistake she would make. She stared at him for a second, then she finally began in a low voice.

"Everything started the same day the Dark Curse was cast, when birth parents I don't know anything about abandoned me in the middle of the woods."

And at last, she told them everything. She spent an eternity talking, reliving her entire life as she was speaking. Judy, Eric and his abuse, how she'd run away as a kid and had ended up begging for some coins in the dark streets of her village. The hunger, the cold, the fear. The job she'd found as a teenager and how she'd got fired, ending up stealing to survive because she had been so scared to starve out there.

She didn't say anything about Neal though, or about how he'd left her. Henry didn't know about him, he thought that he was dead, and now wasn't the time to tell him that his birth father was still alive somewhere out there. She'd already talked a little bit about him to the couple when she'd confessed Henry's existence, and they didn't need to know more. She just explained that she'd been locked up for a few months because of her thefts, and that she'd spent her entire pregnancy there, only being freed as she was about to give birth.

She glanced down at Henry as she was speaking, and Snow seemed to remember that the little boy didn't know anything about his father, because she didn't ask any questions. And Emma continued her tale, talking about having Henry, working at the tavern and meeting the man she loved. She didn't say Killian's real name once, knowing she needed to protect him so he wouldn't get caught as well. And then she admitted everything that had happened after she'd got fired. How they'd run away together, worked illegally, then had taken a chance in the palace. And she finally finished, her mouth dry and her breath short, not sure how to breathe anymore.

"That's why we decided to take new identities. Leia Stark gave me the chance to start anew. I never imagined I was going to get the job when I came here in the first place, so I lied because I thought it wouldn't have any consequences. I know you would never have chosen me if I'd told you that I was an orphan, a thief, a beggar. You would have been scared of me and would have thrown me in a cell. I just wanted to offer a decent future to Henry. I'm sorry if you're feeling betrayed because of this, now. I really never meant to cause you any harm. I promise that if you let me go, I'll disappear from your life and you'll never hear anything from me ever again."

The couple shared another glance after she'd stopped talking, but their expressions had progressively softened as they were hearing her tale. It was obvious to everyone that she couldn't have invented an entire life for herself given all the details she'd provided, and they knew that she was telling the truth, now. She felt like Snow could read in her soul that she was being completely sincere and wasn't a threat, but David still seemed a bit suspicious. He stared at her for a while without saying anything, as if trying to assess who she really was. Then, finally, he broke the thick silence that had filled in the room.

"All right, your story seems legitimate. You couldn't have created all of that. Maybe we could let you go. Maybe. At one condition."

"I'm listening." Emma answered, a bit mistrustful as she was feeling like he was trying to trick her.

"I want to know your real identity. It's the least you could do after lying for so long."

"It's written on the parchment." She said, a bit confused. "You've read it, right? My name is Swan."

"It's your first name that I want." He insisted firmly.

She took a deep breath before answering his request, feeling like she was exposing herself completely and all that was left to do now was pray that they would let her go. "My name is Emma." She said finally. "Emma Swan."

Against all odds, the atmosphere in the room completely transformed at her words. The couple went from suspicion to pure confusion, and Snow got so pale Emma thought that she was going to faint. She wanted to take a step forward to help her keep her balance, all those months spent by her side having developed a need to protect her, but the steel of her chains bit her skin once again and she gave up on the idea. She didn't understand what was happening at all, and felt so horribly lost. Why the hell were they looking at her like she was a ghost coming from their past?

Henry had pulled a little bit away from her to look at her employers intently. He seemed to be trying to read them, curious to know what was happening. He looked like he was somehow understanding the situation though, which still wasn't her case at all because the couple was speechless and she couldn't think of a reason why they would suddenly behave so strangely.

Finally, David started to talk again. His voice was weak and a bit shaky, so far from the tone he'd used to address her before. "Where did you say you were born again?"

"I didn't say anything, because I don't know." She answered, feeling a wave of anxiety taking over her. "My parents abandoned me in the woods when I was just a few hours old. I suppose I was born in the village I grew up in."

Snow gasped and grabbed her husband's hand as he was blinking furiously, as if trying to wake up from a dream. Tears had appeared in the Queen's eyes, but it wasn't from sadness, Emma could feel it. It was hope that was shinning in her gaze and she didn't know why all of this was happening all of the sudden. She herself felt the strange and urgent need to start crying as well. Her stomach was in knots, she felt so overwhelmed by these reactions she couldn't make sense of, and she said in a small voice. "What's going on?"

Henry moved beside her, making her look down at him while her heart was beating so fast it felt like it was going to burst. She noted with surprise that her son didn't seem afraid at all anymore. He was actually staring at the couple with something resembling happiness and excitation written on his features. Mouth open, eyes wide, he seemed to know something that she couldn't understand just yet. She wanted to ask him what this was all about, but she didn't have the time to do so. David spoke and his voice was full of hope as well as he was still holding onto his wife's hand for dear life.

"Do you have any proof that Emma really is your name?"

"I don't get it..." She started, her mind blurred, but he didn't let her finish and repeated.

"Do you?"

"Yeah." She said then, her voice shaky but slowly coming back to reality. She did have something, her baby blanket with her name written on it. She couldn't understand why they were asking her for something so strange, but she felt like it was crucial, so she continued. "It's the only thing I have from my birth parents."

"Can you show it to us?"

Emma's mind was racing, trying to make sense of their words, but she still saw that as an opportunity to get rid of her chains. She wasn't going to go anywhere anyway, she wouldn't try to run away because she knew she couldn't leave the castle without getting caught in the process, but the cuffs were hurting her and she just wanted to be free again. "It's in the wooden chest." She said then. "Can you take my chains off?"

She was half expecting to face a denial, but David practically jumped to get a key out of his pocket and free her from the painful steel. She took a second to rub her injured wrist, eyeing the couple and wondering why the hell they now wanted to see her baby blanket. They'd been about to throw her in a cell a few minutes before, and now they were freeing her and asking her questions that she just couldn't understand.

She really wanted to know what was happening, but for a reason she couldn't quite get, she was also scared. She was feeling like everything was about to shift again at the way they were looking at her. And they seemed so stunned that she couldn't guess if her situation was improving somehow, or if she was in even more trouble than before. So to finally have some answers, she did what she was asked to do. Slowly, her legs quivering, she moved to reach the wooden chest that was placed against one of the walls of the room.

She'd been using it to put some of her personal items inside, away from prying eyes. She didn't really know why she'd decided to take her baby blanket with her when she'd started to work as the assistant, because she could as well have left it on the ship. But she'd always kept it close no matter what, and she'd felt the strange need to bring it along in this adventure that was working at the castle.

She'd only decided to act that way because she'd been absolutely certain that doing so was safe, too. No one was allowed to look into the wooden chest without her permission, or she wouldn't have taken the risk to have this blanket with her real name written all over it around. And it was coming into use, now. It was her only way to prove that Emma was her real name, and she damn well intended to show the couple that she wasn't lying this time.

She didn't have that many things hidden inside the chest, and she immediately found what she was looking for. She wrapped her hands around the white blanket, the only thing that had been by her side for her entire life. She'd held it close as she was freezing in the streets, dreaming of a better life where she didn't have to be scared anymore. She'd managed to take it with her in her cell as a teenager, hiding it from the guards who didn't care anyway, because she just couldn't leave it behind. And it'd been sitting in one of the Jolly Roger's closets for years, living every pain, heartbreaks, hardships, but also moments of pure bliss and laughter with her family. This little item was representing her entire life, and she absently ran her fingers over her name written in soft purple letters before finally turning to face the couple again.

She approached them, determined to prove that she was telling them the truth, but she saw their eyes looking down at the blanket and they both gasped at the exact same time. There was a long second of silence during which they watched the item in disbelief, making her frown in confusion. Finally, they looked up to stare at her like she had just brought them the moon, tears shinning deep in their gazes. She opened her mouth to ask them what this was all about, but didn't have the time to do so. Without notice and at her greatest surprise, they took her in their arms and held her tight against their chests.

"What… what are you doing?" Emma stuttered, as David's hand was coming up to cradle the back of her head in a protective gesture.

"It's you!" Snow sobbed without answering the question, holding her even closer as if she were scared that she was going to fade away "It's really you! You were there all along!"

It wasn't explaining anything and Emma felt tears appear in her eyes because she was just so lost. She was confused as to why they were looking so happy now, while they'd seemed to hate her a moment ago. But despite feeling almost sick, she acted without thinking and let the blanket fall on the floor to absently hug the couple too, simply because it felt like it was the right thing to do.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Henry approaching them and she threw him a questioning glance, trying to understand what the hell this was all about. Deep down she already knew, but she didn't want to believe it because this couldn't be happening. It didn't seem to be Henry's case though, as he looked absolutely certain that he knew the reason why the King and Queen seemed so happy. He had tears of joy in his eyes and was staring at his mom with the biggest grin on his face.

"Kid?" She asked, more than intrigued by his behavior.

"I was right! For all this time, I was right!" He just cried out.

"Right about what?" She said, feeling a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach because she could guess what he was about to say.

"You're the Lost Princess, mom!"

She shook her head, not wanting to accept this possibility. The floor was spinning beneath her feet and her heart skipped a long beat. She didn't want to hear about it, she didn't want to admit that what she was trying to deny so badly was actually real. Everything was making sense, but she couldn't believe it. She wasn't a princess. She didn't have parents. They'd abandoned her, they didn't want her and she would never know who they were. They couldn't be there right now, holding her. They couldn't be royals. This was all too insane to be true.

"Henry, no." She started, just wanting for the couple to agree with her and tell her son that he was wrong, but she got interrupted once again.

"Emma." Snow pulled a little bit away to look straight into her eyes. She was crying and got quiet for a second after saying her name, as if she'd waited for that moment for an eternity. "He's right."

"No, he's not! It's not possible!" Emma said in a high-pitched voice, but the obvious was starting to get hard to deny as the couple was looking at her like she was their long lost angel.

And it was all so logical, even if she was just realizing it now because she'd never wanted to believe Henry when he would tell her that she was the Princess. But it all made so much sense. The fact that she was born the day of the Dark Curse. Why the Princess still hadn't been found yet while they had been searching for months. The affection Snow had for her since the very beginning. How safe she felt when she was with her.

It couldn't all be a coincidence, and yet the fact that she was the person they were looking for still seemed impossible. She had to be dreaming, because this couldn't be her new reality. But the moment was too powerful to be a product of her imagination, the couple's tears were too real and as she came to that conclusion, she suddenly felt like she couldn't breathe anymore.

David was the one who broke the silence. His eyes were shinning and he was staring at her like he was trying to etch her face into his memory. "Emma, it's all real. This blanket, it's Granny who made it for you before you were born. We wrapped you in it when we placed you in the magical wardrobe. We didn't know where you were going, but we wanted you to know that we were there with you, always. We wanted you to know that we hadn't abandoned you."

"We didn't have a choice." Snow added, cupping Emma's face to press a kiss on her forehead, and she let her do it because she wasn't sure she was able to move anymore. "Leaving you is the hardest thing we've ever had to do. We would have wanted to give you everything, but we needed you to be safe from the Dark Curse. You were the Savior, the only one able to free us from the Dome. And here you are, now."

"I knew it!" Henry cried out, looking absolutely ecstatic. "You're the one who made the Dome disappear, Mom! Dad and you shared a true love kiss, for real! It broke the curse! You're the Savior and the Lost Princess, I knew it all along!"

The reality of the situation hit Emma all at once, and what she felt was far from what she'd once expected as a little girl, as she was dreaming about finally being reunited with her parents. She didn't feel any relief or happiness. She felt like she was drowning in her own distress. Her entire life seemed like a lie and she didn't know who she was anymore. Everything she knew about herself was crumbling. She wasn't an orphan. She wasn't unwanted. And she'd lived for four months with her birth parents without even knowing who they really were.

A huge sob shook her shoulders and a single tear rolled down her cheek as she was saying in a broken voice. "I've waited for this moment my entire life."

"I… I can't believe you're here." Snow stuttered, her hands still cupping Emma's cheeks in a tender and protective gesture. Her face was wet with tears and she was crying too "We're going to introduce you to everyone, all right? Everybody needs to know who you really are. I can't believe that it's really you. I can't believe you were with us all along. You found us, Emma."

"We were starting to think that we would never be reunited with you." David added, looking completely overwhelmed by this entire situation. "You're even more perfect than I could ever have imagined."

Emma felt the urgent and sudden need to run away from there as fast as possible. She didn't want to be introduced to anyone. She didn't want to admit that she really was the daughter they had been looking for. Her head was spinning and she realized that she needed to get out of there, she needed to listen to herself and take some time to think about all of this. She just couldn't fall in their arms and promise them that they would be a family. She'd spent way too long believing that her parents didn't want her, and she couldn't accept the fact that this was really happening, that she had parents and that Henry had been right since the beginning.

So she gently pulled away from the couple's embrace, ignoring the confusion in their eyes at her unexpected gesture, and she turned to Henry to place her hands on his shoulders "Kid, I have to go. But you stay right here, all right? You stay close to Snow and David, they'll take care of you. I'll be back soon."

"Where are you going?" He asked, and she could feel the couple's stares burning in her back, quietly asking her why they had to lose her again while they'd just finally found her after all this time.

"I'm going to get your father."

Killian would know how to react and what to do with these new information, she was sure of it. He would know what to say to make her feel like herself again, and she needed his strong arms to come back to reality. She needed to get to him, right now.

She briefly took her son in her arms and said, dropping a kiss to the top of his head: "I love you, kiddo."

"I love you, too." He answered, looking a bit worried by her behavior.

"I'll be back before you know it." She added gently and he nodded, biting his bottom lip in concern.

And then, without waiting for anything else, she jumped for the door, opened it hastily and barely even heard Snow and David telling the guards that were standing before the room to let her go. A few minutes before that, she was still chained to the bed and ready to get thrown in a cell. And now they were allowing her to go, because she was their daughter.

She was the Lost Princess. But this entire situation was too much for her to accept the obvious just yet.

She ran all the way to the Jolly Roger, stumbling over invisible obstacles, ignoring once again this exhaustion that she'd accumulated for so long but that didn't even seem to exist anymore after what she'd just learned about herself. She was feeling like she could crumble at any given moment. The last events had thoroughly shocked her, and she was feeling like simple things such as walking, talking, breathing or even living had become too overwhelming to deal with.

She couldn't believe in what had been revealed to her and she was scared of how she was going to react when she would accept the new information at last. The memory of the couple's embrace and of their eyes drowning in tears made her want to sob again. Henry was right since the beginning, and she needed to admit it or she was going to turn insane. She was the Lost Princess. And she'd been working with her parents without any of them knowing that what they were looking for was right under their noses.

And yet, she still couldn't feel anything positive. She just felt like wrapping herself in ten blankets, lying down in her bed in the captain's quarters and staying there until the end of time.

What she'd said to Snow hadn't been a lie, she'd dreamed about this moment her entire life. She'd waited for her mom to come find her, take her in her arms and tell her that she loved her and that she should never have abandoned her. She'd pictured this blurry figure repeating that she was the most precious thing in the entire world countless of times until she believed it. And she'd thought about her father too, to help her fall asleep in the dark streets of her former village at night. She'd seen him lift her up on his shoulders and bring her to the life she'd always wanted, teaching her how to ride a horse and sword fight. She'd hoped to finally find peace and love after all the pain.

But with time, she'd understood that she needed to let go of those dreams that were keeping her warm at night, because they would never become true and would only end up hurting her more than she already was. She'd accepted that she was just an orphan, unwanted even by her own parents. She'd learned to only trust herself and had put walls around her heart. She'd grown tougher, and she'd survived. And everything was coming apart now, because all that she'd ever thought real had been a lie. She didn't even know if she could rely on herself anymore.

She had parents who loved her and had desperately searched for her for months. They hadn't abandoned her willingly. They'd simply been stuck in time, unable to reach her. They would have wanted to know and raise her, to give her all the love in the world. And they'd cried when they'd finally found her, because they couldn't believe that she was real.

She was a Princess. Not a beggar, not an orphan, a thief or a murderer. A Princess.

To try and curb the panic that she was feeling taking over her, she whispered to herself as she was still running to escape the reality. "My name is Emma Swan. I'm almost 29 years old. Tomorrow is my birthday. Henry is my son. I live with Killian and him on the Jolly Roger. I found a home there with them. They're my entire world." She was stating simple facts, trying to convince herself that some things had stayed the same, that she was still herself and that no one could take that away from her, because she was feeling so helpless she just wanted to be in control of the situation again.

The bottom of her gown got caught in brambles, but she didn't stop and didn't pay attention to the fabric tearing on the way. She just wanted to finally get to Killian and tell him about the impossible. He was the only person she trusted to react calmly and manage to comfort her, to try and find solutions with her about what she was supposed to do. Because she had no idea of how she wanted to react to all of that. She didn't even know who she was anymore.

She didn't know if she had to stay at the castle, now. She wasn't sure that she wanted to know the couple as her parents, to live the life she had once been destined to lead and rule a kingdom she knew nothing about. Deep down, she wanted to run away, because she was terrified. She wanted to take Henry and Killian, forget about all of this, forget the castle and the King and Queen and pretend that nothing had ever happened. She was aware that this wasn't possible, though. Everything had changed and nothing would ever be the same. Because she wasn't an orphan and she felt like everything she'd ever believed to be true had been nothing but a lie.

She also knew that trying to ignore this was only going to cause more pain. She'd wanted parents for her entire life, she couldn't miss that chance now and she just couldn't do that to the couple. She knew them, they'd become her friends, and she couldn't abandon them while they'd spent months trying to find her. But her mind was so blurred by the fear that she couldn't really think clearly anymore. All that mattered right now was getting to Killian and let him hold her until she was sure that everything was going to be okay and that the world wasn't ending because of what she'd learned.

She was panting so hard she felt dizzy when she arrived at the harbor, and her heart was racing with all the emotions that were taking over her on this very important moment. She immediately saw Killian's figure leaning against the handrail, as he was waiting for her on deck. She'd promised that she would come back soon when she'd left him earlier, and he saw her right away. Despite the darkness, she could almost guess his smile. He was so far from expecting what she was about to tell him. He probably thought that she was running because she was simply happy to finally be able to introduce him to the couple, but this wasn't about that anymore. Everything had changed once again, and she felt horribly powerless.

She ran up the boarding ramp and immediately threw herself in his arms, so hard that he almost lost his balance. He hugged her back as he had no idea of what was going on, and she buried her face in the crook of his neck, silent tears rolling down her cheeks. He instantly realized that she was crying, and he started to run his fingers through her hair to calm her down. She could feel his heart beating fast in his chest at how worried he was to find her in such a deep state of distress.

"Emma? Love, what's wrong? Gods, you're shaking."

His hand went down to stroke her back in a soothing gesture that made her sigh in relief. She was finally feeling safe in his arms, and thought that maybe she wasn't going crazy after all. She didn't answer him though, and he said in a soft voice, knowing exactly what she needed to hear in order to feel better. "Shh, darling, I'm right here. I've got you. Breathe, it's going to be all right." He didn't know anything about what was truly going on, but his words helped her more than anything could ever have. Slowly, she managed to start breathing again as he was holding her, and she felt like he was right. Perhaps she could be okay again, after all.

She finally pulled away after a minute, knowing that she had to talk to him. He was doing his best to comfort her, but it was obvious that he also wanted to know and was worried about what was terrifying her so much. She searched for the familiar gorgeous blue of his eyes, and he gently cupped her face to wipe off her tears, asking in a very gentle tone.

"What happened, love? Why are you crying? Is Henry okay?"

"He's fine, but..." She blinked, feeling like saying everything out loud was going to make it real and she wasn't sure that she was ready for that yet. "I'm the Lost Princess." She finally said anyway, but she wasn't able to explain herself. She was still too shocked to do so.

Killian stared at her for a second, and she thought that he was going to place his hand on her forehead to make sure that she wasn't running a fever. This was surreal for him too, and he finally shook his head, saying in a low voice because he probably wasn't sure that he'd head her correctly..

"What do you mean?"

"I'm the Lost Princess!" She cried out, feeling sobs obstructing her throat once again. "Henry was right!"

"What makes you say that, Emma?" He asked gently. He was very obviously wondering if she wasn't joking, because he just couldn't believe it, and she blurted out, panting.

"They told me I was! The King and Queen, they know my name, and there's my baby blanket, and it's me! I'm the one they're looking for!"

She was vaguely aware that she wasn't making any sense at all and that Killian couldn't get a word of what she was saying since he didn't know what had happened in the castle, but she just couldn't do any better. She was too scared, and he seemed to notice it. He stroked her cheekbone with his thumb, in a soothing gesture that made her close her eyes as she was trying to catch her breath.

"Breathe, my love, it's okay." He murmured. "I'm so sorry, but I don't understand what you're trying to tell me."

She let go of a frustrated sigh because she knew she wouldn't be able to clearly explain what was going on right now. She was too confused herself, and she just wanted to feel him close, to make sure that not everything had changed and that at least one thing in her life was still real. So she took a step forward and smashed her mouth against his, seeking the comfort she needed so badly.

At first surprised, his hand found her hair again and he kissed her back as their embrace was gradually getting more demanding. Her lips parted to let him in and she glued her body to his, the familiar feeling of his arms around her making her moan in relief. She finally felt like she was herself again, and she didn't want it to stop.

He pulled away after a few more minutes, though. Her hand was spread underneath his leather coat now, trying to reach his skin, but he placed hook and hand on her shoulders to be able to look at her. Very kindly, he said, his voice strangled with worry and a bit of fear at what she'd just told him.

"Wait, darling, please. I'd like to understand. Can you tell me what happened?"

"Later." She said against his lips, her breath short and just wanting to be comforted right now, because he was the only thing that felt right. She could explain after, now she just needed to feel real again. "I promise. I'm the Lost Princess, but it's all that you need to know right now. For now, I just want you. I need you, Killian." She added in an almost pleading voice, and he didn't find it in him to protest.

She grabbed his collar to bring him even closer, and he didn't pull away this time, knowing that she needed this to feel better before she could tell him anything else. She wanted to know that nothing had changed and that she was still Emma Swan, no matter what had happened in this palace. She wouldn't lose herself because of this. What she'd learned was probably going to change her entire life, but she'd gone through much worse. And feeling her boyfriend against her was making her think that at least this would never change. They would always be head over heels in love with each other.

Impatient and shaky, she didn't take long to take off his coat, then his shirt, and he stood bare chest in front of her. Her hands ran down his stomach and she reached for his belt to get to her goal faster, not wanting to wait for a minute longer than necessary. He however stopped her again, his fingers tangled in her blond locks and panting a little bit as well.

"Don't you want to go inside?"

"It's dark." She said in a whisper. "We're alone. No one will see us."

She didn't wait for an answer and he didn't seem willing to argue with this decision anyway, because he tugged at her dress to encourage her to take it off. She finally got rid of his pants and looked at his figure enlightened by the dim light of the moon for a moment. He was gorgeous, and she breathed him in, finally feeling like she was alive again. He was there, he was real. That would never change.

They started to kiss again, more and more passionately until it became almost painful, and they sat down on the cold wood of the deck, his arms around her and leaning against the handrail for balance. She didn't feel like making things last any longer this time, she was more than ready to have him, and she straddled him, letting him invade her completely until they became one.

She let out a strangled gasp when he entered her, and she pushed her hips against him, fastening her pace again and just wanting to reach this place of absolute pleasure she was seeking so desperately. He was feeling so good it didn't take long for her to find it, and she dived into her orgasm, her nails digging into the skin of his back and his name escaping her lips as he was biting at the thin skin of her neck to help her fall into the wonderful abyss of their embrace.

She didn't feel like it was enough though, and he didn't either. He barely waited for her to come back to reality and he stood up as she was still quivering from the strength of her pleasure, lifting her up and her legs tightly wrapped around him. He kissed her all the way as he was bringing them to their room, and he laid her down on their bed, staying on top this time. He started their familiar dance again, but much more slowly than what they'd done a moment before. Her eyes locked with his as she was sighing in pure bliss, feeling so incredibly loved as he was murmuring gentle words to her ear.

They came together this time. A raspy cry escaped her lips again, and she forced herself to keep her eyes open to watch him as he was finally diving into his pleasure as well, his blue iris darkened by lust. And all while looking at him, her mind blurred by the amazing sensations he was making arise in her, she managed to forget what had happened back at the palace for a while. That was all she needed to find her feet again, and she just enjoyed the present time without worrying about her uncertain future, marveling at the sensation of the man she loved inside of her and at the beautiful sounds of their sighs ringing against the walls of their home.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Before starting this chapter, I just wanted to thank you all again for all the support you're giving this story. I can't even begin to explain how much this means to me, and I'm so grateful for all of you! I hope you'll like this chapter!

"How are you feeling?"

Killian's voice gently rang into the quiet of the room, as his fingers were playing with a strand of her tangled hair. Her head was resting on his chest and she was listening to his heartbeats, finally comforted by the peaceful sounds. He leaned to press a gentle kiss on her forehead, and she sighed in content. She was feeling so safe in his arms, it was hard to believe it sometimes.

The bed sheets were the only things covering their still naked bodies, but she wasn't cold. His arms were more than enough to bring her what she needed, and she buried herself a little bit deeper into his embrace. She knew she had to answer him, but she took a second to do so. The conversation they were about to have was going to change the course of their lives after the moment of pure bliss they'd just shared, and she was well aware of it. They needed to come back to reality now, though. They needed to face their future.

She was finally ready to talk to him. She wasn't even scared anymore, actually. Their moments had brought her the peace she had been looking for, and she'd finally managed to convince herself that not everything had changed. He was still there, by her side, and everything was going to be all right as long as they were together. Even now that she'd come back from the heights of her pleasure and could perfectly remember what had happened back at the castle, she wasn't feeling powerless anymore. This was a big thing to accept, sure, but she was ready to deal with anything that would be thrown her way. With this wonderful man right beside her, she felt able to overcome any obstacles life would try to put on their paths.

She still knew that she'd taken the right decision not to tell him everything right away. She'd needed to calm down before doing so, because she'd been so overwhelmed by the news she'd received. But now, they were going to discuss this, and they would decide on what to do together. What they'd just discovered had certainly never been in their plans, but fate had decided to play with them once again and she wouldn't run away from it. Whatever their final decision would end up being, she wouldn't disappear to let Snow and David mourn her loss a second time. She just couldn't hurt them like that.

"I'm fine." She finally answered in a whisper. "I'm feeling much better. All thanks to you."

"I'm glad that I was able to help." He just said, and she knew he wasn't going to pressure her into explaining anything even though it was obvious that he wanted to understand.

It made Emma smile at how incredible he was, and she dropped a kiss to his bare chest before rolling on her side to face him. "You wanna know what happened, don't you?"

"Of course I do, my love. But only if you wish to tell me."

Her smile widened at his thoughtfulness and she added softly. "You deserve to know, Killian. I was just too scared to tell you anything before. But I'm ready, now." He simply nodded to encourage her, and she took a deep breath before saying, much more calmly than the first time she'd pronounced those words. "What I said earlier was real. Back at the castle, I did learn that I was the Lost Princess."

"How?" He merely asked.

She could tell that he was dying to know more, that he would have wanted to ask her thousands of questions. But he was also well aware that she was still in shock, and he let her take her time without pushing her to go any faster. It made her heart grow in her chest at how amazing, perfect he was and she leaned for a second to press a little peck on his lips.

"You really are the best man that's ever existed, do you know that? Thank you. Thank you for giving me time while I know that you just want to understand."

"No need to thank me, darling." He said, looking touched by her words and his fingers gently stroking her side in a soothing gesture. "I'd do anything for you to be happy."

"I am happy when I'm with you." She answered, and he was the one to kiss her lips this time, before pulling away and smiling at her, all the love he had for her readable in his eyes. "Well, it's kind of a long story, but here's how everything happened..." She added after a second, comforted by his touch and gentle gaze.

And so she told him everything. How the couple had discovered that she'd lied and had chained her to her own bed, how she'd tried to convince them that she wasn't dangerous and, finally, how the truth had been divulged to everyone. She didn't only talk about the facts, but also about how she'd felt deep inside while living these insane moments. The shock and the fear, the feeling that she was losing herself. And he listened to her intently, still stroking her skin as she was speaking because he knew just how much this was affecting her.

Looking at him, she promised herself that even though she was terrified, she wasn't going to push him away. He always knew what to do to reach her, and they needed to face this together, as a family. He was showing her how much he loved her every single day and she internally swore that she would keep on doing the same for him for the rest of eternity. No matter where they would end up at the end, her heart would always stay wide open for him, because he'd always kept it safe. She trusted him with everything that she was, and she was so glad to have him by her side as she was getting through this. He was keeping her sane, and she felt incredibly grateful that she'd found this man that was making her fall in love with him a little bit more every day.

When she finally stopped talking, her voice was shaking just a little bit, and she was feeling like her heart was going to burst from how fast it was beating. "I just didn't know what to do. So my first reaction was to come here, to you. I needed to see you, hold you, because you were the only one able to make me feel like I was real again. And I was right to do so, because you stopped me from going insane."

"You're so strong." He murmured after a second of silence, what made her sigh in pure awe. He really knew what she needed to hear, every single time. "And you can get through this. You can overcome anything, because you're the most brilliant, amazing lass that I've ever met. And I'm so glad that you're trusting me with this. I'll be with you every step of the way, my Swan. I promise."

"I know." She said with a small smile, feeling so touched by his words. "And that's why I want us to decide what we should do together. Because I have no idea if I want to stay with them now, you know? I don't want to hurt them because they've been looking for me for so long, but at the same time, I don't know if I'm ready to have parents. Not after believing that I was unwanted for my entire life."

"I get it." He nodded. "You have to do what's right for you, aye? You have to listen to your instincts, because they're always right. We can leave this region and take the Jolly Roger somewhere else to start over again or, if you want to, we can move to the castle for good and learn to know the royal couple as your parents."

"Killian, are you sure that this is even an option?" She said, biting her lower lip in concern. "I mean, if we decide to go live there, they'll want to offer me the life they always had in mind for me. I'm not sure that I want any of that, and I'm scared that our dream life on the ocean will never happen if we make this choice. I'll be drowning in responsibilities that I don't even want to have, and we won't be free to do as we please anymore. This is not our dream."

"We don't have to stay if you don't want to, my love. But I know that even if you're afraid, this is important for you. You've dreamed about knowing your parents for so long, and even if they're not what you'd imagined them to be, it can be a good thing to know where you come from. But you don't owe them anything, that I can promise you. You could just talk to them for a bit, learn to know them, and then we can go on with our lives if it's what you wish to do. I'll follow your lead, always. You're much more important than our dream life, Emma. Because you are my dream."

His speech made tears appear in her eyes, and she opened her mouth to tell him how much she loved him once again. What she felt for him was so powerful it seemed surreal sometimes and she just had to say it out loud, but something stopped her. Another truth that she hadn't thought about yet hit her all at once. She blinked and stared at her boyfriend, lips parted in disbelief as she was finally realizing what all if this really meant. Between the shocking revelation of the royal couple being her parents and the terror that had followed, she had forgotten about a very important aspect of their situation.

They were right since the beginning. They'd broken the curse together.

They really did share true love.

Henry had told her so in the room back at the castle, but she hadn't fully understood what it meant, too caught in the craziness of the moment. And now she was finally realizing it. And she suddenly felt so happy she wanted to shout her love for Killian from the rooftops. They had been convinced that they were sharing this kind of love before, but knowing that it was actually true made everything so different. They really had the rarest magic of all, simply because they'd found each other. And on that moment, she couldn't believe her luck that she really got to spend the rest of her life beside her soulmate.

"Are you all right, love?" Killian asked, noticing that something was going on in Emma's mind.

Without answering his question right away, she approached him to press her lips against his again for a long, long time. Her tears gave a salty taste to the kiss, and when she pulled away, she murmured against him. "I love you."

"I love you too, lass." He said, smiling at her statement.

"I just… we were right." She stuttered, searching to meet the blue of his eyes and she saw at the questioning spark in his gaze that he hadn't grasped the importance of the situation just yet.

"Right about what?" He asked gently.

She took a deep breath before answering, feeling like her heart was going to burst from pure happiness. She really got to tell him this magical, beautiful thing. She actually had the chance to make him understand just how right they'd been all along. "Killian, the royal couple told me that I did break the curse, because I'm the Savior. I really am the reason why the Dome has disappeared. Or rather, we are. We did it together."

He finally understood and she saw his eyes opening wide as he was whispering in disbelief. "A true love kiss." He took a brief pause, looking at her like she was an angel coming right from heaven. "That was real. It's true love."

"I mean, I've never doubted it." She said, her face still inches from his and her hand cupping his cheek because she just wanted to be close to him on this very special moment. "But we were right to believe it. And I'm just so glad that we've found each other."

"I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am." He stated, just shaking his head because he seemed at a loss for words. "I love you. Gods, Emma, I love you so much."

Those three little words were simply stating the obvious at this point, but it still made her feel like she was going to melt and she broke the distance between them again to kiss his lips tenderly. She could feel that he was quietly crying too, now. But these were tears of joy, coming from the beautiful certitude that they were exactly where they were meant to be as long as they were together. She ran her hand through his hair, down his back, up his chest, her mouth traveled his skin to meet his neck and every part of him she could reach, and she felt like their hearts were beating in unison as they were realizing just how lucky they were to have found each other.

Every fear she still had suddenly faded away. All that was left was him. Her soulmate, her best friend, her lover and the father of her son. The most incredible man she'd ever met. And all that mattered was kissing him into oblivion so she could make him understand all the things she couldn't say out loud, because what was burning inside of her was just too powerful.

No matter what was going to happen with the royal couple now. The decision they would end up taking wouldn't change who they were. As long as she had him and Henry, she would be fine. She was complete. And it's while bearing this new amazing belief in her heart that she let him straddle her, her legs immediately spreading to let him in. She loved him. She loved him more than she could ever say and they were going to be okay, she was so sure of it now.

They didn't fall asleep that night, despite how exhausted she was about the insane day she'd just spent. They simply stayed in each other's arms in silence, breathing into the other and feeling so close in the moment they were sharing. They were exactly where they belonged and they didn't say much about what they were feeling. Love, trust and just pure bliss. They both knew already and simply lying down in their bed in the quiet of the night was feeling like the most amazing blessing after everything they'd been through to get there.

They finally decided that they had to move again after a while, though. She was now calmed down enough to go talk to the couple, and she couldn't wait to get back to her son. He probably wasn't too worried about her since he knew where she was, and she trusted the couple to take care of him while she was gone, but she needed to get to him, now. And she was going to face this situation without running away this time, even if she was scared. She didn't need to take a decision that would change her entire life right away. She just had to get through each day and see what was coming next. Baby steps, right?

She looked out the window for a while. The sky was still dark and the ocean looked like a pool of ink underneath the ship. She knew the exact same thoughts were going through Killian's mind about going to join their son, but she still said in a low voice. "I think it's time to go."

He nodded and gently kissed her temple. "We'll be okay."

"I know." She smiled slightly.

Finally deciding to leave the warmth of their bed and face the coldness of the outside world, she wrapped the sheets around her as a makeshift dress and went to fetch their clothes, still scattered on deck under the moonlight. They got dressed in silence, a bit stunned by everything that had happened in such little time. Still, they didn't need to talk about it to know that they wouldn't take anything else with them to the palace.

She still didn't know if she wanted to go live at the castle, even if it was only for a short period of time, and if they did end up being there for a while, they could still come back to the Jolly Roger anytime and get their belongings then. For now, they were taking things slowly. She didn't feel the need to project herself in the future yet. She was going to wait and see, and she knew it was probably the best thing to do in order to protect herself.

Hand in hand, they were walking away from the harbor when she stopped to turn and look at their ship one last time. She knew their lives were changing no matter what their final decision would be, but she definitely wasn't leaving this place that had seen them grow into a family. The Jolly Roger would always be where they'd fallen in love and had become what they were today, and she was certain that this wasn't goodbye. Killian gently squeezed her fingers between his, as if to promise her that wherever they would end up living, they would be alright. Together, always.

They walked to the palace, lost in deep thoughts they seemed to be sharing. She could see Killian regularly glancing at her to make sure that she was still okay, and she just answered by holding his hand a little bit tighter. He was giving her the space she needed to think about all of this while still being right beside her, and she felt so grateful for him. He didn't have to worry, though, because she was actually all right, for now anyway. And it was all thanks to him and his endless support.

When they arrived at the castle, they both stopped in front of this place that had once been fated to be her home and spent a second watching it. It was still hard to believe that she was a princess, that she belonged there somehow, because she didn't feel that way at all. Things were still too fresh in her mind to accept everything just yet. For now, she just needed to feel Killian beside her as she was mustering the courage to go talk to these people that were actually her birth parents. And she was going to be just fine, she just needed to keep going.

She stared at the towers and angles of this beautiful fortress, wondering if it would one day feel like home or if she would just end up going back to the ocean and live her life like she'd planned to since the beginning. She sighed slightly and the first ray of sunshine suddenly appeared in the sky, enlightening the landscape in a gorgeous explosion of red, orange and yellow.

It looked like heaven, and Killian leaned toward her as she was looking at the brightness of her surroundings, hypnotized by the beauty of what she was witnessing. He wrapped his arms around her and whispered to her ear. "Happy birthday, my love."

She looked up at him and answered with a simple kiss. This was a new year, and probably an entire new life that was opening up to her. And with him, she was now ready to deal with whatever life was planning for them.

* * *

Snow and David were waiting for her in the hallway. They looked pale and tired, the bags under their eyes telling the tale of a night spent at chasing sleep. She felt slightly guilty to have left them waiting for so long, but she knew she'd done what was right for her own sanity. She'd desperately needed to pull herself together before being able to face them. And with Killian right beside her now, she was sure that she could do anything.

Henry was standing there too, staring at the door as they were walking in. He didn't seem worried at all and she was so relieved to notice that she hadn't concerned her little boy because of her actions. The couple took a second to turn to them as well when they heard them approaching, and if the King and Queen looked at Killian intently since it was the first time they were seeing him for real, Henry immediately broke into a smile. He ran to his parents, and Killian knelt to welcome him into his embrace as their son was wrapping his arms tightly around him.

"I missed you, dad!" He said cheerfully, obviously so happy to have them back at last.

"I missed you too, lad." Killian answered, still seeming so touched by the way their son had called him, even if he was doing so for a couple of months already.

After spending a little while just watching her two boys finally reuniting, Emma glanced up at Snow and David to assess their reaction. She'd avoided this moment until then, but she needed to talk to them now. They looked at her like she was coming back from the dead for a minute, but they didn't have the time to say anything. Henry pulled away from Killian to approach her, and she crouched as well to be able to hug him.

"Happy birthday, Mom." He said with a smile in his voice.

"Thank you, kiddo." She whispered, affectionately rubbing his back. "I'm sorry I was gone for so long."

"It's fine. I'm used to sleeping here and I knew you were going to come back." He simply shrugged.

"Did everything go okay while I wasn't here?" She asked, just wanting to make sure that he really was all right.

"Yeah, it's all good. Don't worry." He said, pulling a bit away to look at her, and the wide grin drawn on his face told his joy to finally have his family reunited. Everything was changing, but he didn't seem worried or scared, and it reassured her somehow. At least her little boy was doing just fine, and his happiness was one of the most important things in the world for her.

She looked up to meet Killian's gaze again and saw that he was smiling too at how glad Henry seemed. Their son had waited for this moment for his entire life, after all. He'd been so convinced that she was the Lost Princess, he'd never wanted to give up on this idea, and now it was all becoming true before his eyes. His favorite tale was coming to life, and this new situation meant that he was a little prince too, just like in his dreams. And despite her own fears, it truly made her so happy. Her son really was so brave, she couldn't have been prouder of him and she was determined to be alright again, just to see him smiling like this for the rest of his life. For him, she would do anything.

She finally stood up and placed her hands on Henry's shoulders to look back at Snow and David, who were still watching their reunion in silence, as if afraid to interfere. They probably wanted to give them their moment, and she felt truly grateful for it. Staring at them, she noticed how red the Queen's eyes were, a living proof of all the tears she'd shed. She was looking absolutely exhausted, but she still made the effort to smile at her daughter when she met her gaze, as if nothing at all was wrong.

Emma bit her bottom lip, a bit saddened by this sight. She'd never wanted to hurt them, and she was aware that what had happened the day before hadn't been the reunion they'd imagined in their dreams. She'd run away barely a few minutes after learning the truth, while they'd probably hoped that she was going to bury herself in their arms and stay there for hours, promising them that she never wanted to be away from them ever again.

But she'd needed to put herself first for once, and do what had felt right on the moment. And she could tell that Snow was understanding her previous reaction perfectly at the way she was still gently smiling at her. She didn't seem to blame her for anything, and it made her feel a little bit better. She tried to smile back, but the situation was too stressful for it to be a real grin, so she sighed instead, waiting for what was next.

The Queen suddenly stepped forward and took a deep breath, as if weighing the importance of the moment. Emma guessed that she probably wanted to take her in her arms more than anything, but she also knew that her daughter wasn't ready for that just yet. So instead, she simply grabbed her hand and said in a very soft voice :

"Happy birthday, honey."

"Thanks." Emma answered, finally managing to offer her a small smile.

A thick, uncomfortable silence filled the place for a few seconds then. Emma awkwardly shifted from one foot to the other, not sure of what to do. She'd never had any trouble talking to the Queen before, she'd always considered her almost as a friend, but she was now feeling at a complete loss for words. Their relationship had changed so much in the span of a few hours she didn't know how to act around her anymore. She was afraid that the couple was expecting something from her now that they knew she was their daughter, something that she wasn't able to provide, and her heart was racing in her chest at the thought that she was probably going to disappoint them.

Trying to find something to say, she turned to Killian and he immediately heard her silent cry for help. He stepped forward to come stand beside her and she took his hand for support. She coughed once, a little embarrassed, then she finally stated a bit hesitantly :

"I think it's time that I finally introduce you to the man you know as Charles. He's been by my side for years now, and he's Henry's adoptive father. We decided to both take fake identities when we came here, but you have to know his real name, now." She glanced at her boyfriend to show him that it was his turn to talk and he said, looking himself pretty awkward.

"My name is Killian Jones. It's a pleasure to meet you."

As the good gentleman that he was and as the tradition wanted, he bowed before the Queen, what made her grin slightly. He then approached the King to share a strong handshake with him as a greeting. They looked at each other for a while, and Emma thought that David was about to smile when his expression suddenly hardened. Confused, she needed a second to realize what had just happened, and her heart tightened when she finally did.

The King was now looking down at the prosthesis Killian was still wearing for a left hand, right where his hook had once been. He would sometimes put it back when they were alone on the ship and away from prying eyes, but he would always take it off when they were in public, worried that someone would recognize his real identity otherwise. The fact that his hand was missing seemed to make David grow suspicious though, because he frowned and asked in a serious tone.

"How did you lose your hand?"

The Queen looked at her husband disapprovingly, probably finding the question rude, but Killian shrugged and answered. "An accident, a long time ago." The explanation was vague, and Emma guessed that it was because her boyfriend actually didn't know if she wanted to admit the entire truth when he turned toward her to silently ask for her opinion.

She didn't take long to decide on what to do. She'd kept enough secrets for a lifetime and she wanted to come completely clean, now. Hiding Killian's past was only going to cause more hardships in the future, and she didn't want him to think that she could be ashamed of him. She was so proud of how far he'd come and of how strong and brave he was, and he needed to realize that.

So she approached Killian as he'd let go of David's hand, and he wrapped his arm around her for comfort. She took a second before starting to talk, a bit worried about the couple's reaction to their new revelation, but knowing that they needed to do this too.

"There is something that you don't know about us." She finally began, then looked at Killian to show him that it was his turn to speak. They weren't risking anything by talking about their pasts now, anyway. It was not like the King was going to throw them in a cell just after getting her back. They were safe and they needed to stop being scared of their own story, because it was more than time for them to accept themselves.

"I have a past that I'm not proud of, but I've learned to accept it because it brought me to the life I have with Emma today." Killian started, and she briefly rested her head on his shoulder to show her support, because she knew that this moment was anything but easy for him. "You've probably heard of me, but not under my real name. People know me by what once was my moniker. Captain Hook."

"Captain Hook?" David repeated, looking utterly outraged by this statement. It was obvious that he knew about his days as a pirate and Emma stiffened, ready to defend her boyfriend because his past was already hard enough as it was and it definitely wasn't defining him. "You're a pirate?"

"Former pirate." She corrected right away, frowning at the King's reaction.

"How dare you…?" David spat out then, but he stopped suddenly.

Emma braced herself for what was coming, still holding Killian close, when Snow unexpectedly cut her husband off. She placed a hand on his shoulder and said in a calm but bossy tone. "David, Killian is our guest here."

Emma instantly started to breathe again, and felt so incredibly grateful for Snow's intervention. She'd managed to calm David down with barely a few words, and she was so relieved. She was ready to fight for the man she loved, she would defend him with her life because no one had the right to talk to him like that, but she didn't want her first real discussion with the couple to turn into an argument. Killian relaxed a bit against her as well when he saw the King grow quiet, and she simply ran her hand up and down his back to silently show him that she would never let anyone insult him.

The Queen didn't seem disturbed by their revelation at all, because she smiled and said as if nothing had happened. "Welcome to the castle, Killian. You're home here, and I'm so glad to finally have the chance to meet you. What do you say we all go to the dining room to eat something while we talk? I think we have a lot to say to each other."

Emma blinked, impressed by her composed and confident behavior. She could guess that her emotions were all over the place after finding this daughter that she'd been looking for for so long, but she was very obviously trying to stay clam for Emma's sake. Snow knew that she wasn't ready to hear them say how much they loved her yet, and she felt immensely thankful that she was so thoughtful with her, despite her own desires to hug her and never let her go. So she smiled at her, because in spite of the situation, things were going smoothly thanks to her. And all of this was giving her the courage she needed to continue this conversation.

Snow understood her quiet thank you and simply nodded before moving to lead them to the dining room. Emma shared a glance with Killian, who just smiled to show her that he was still okay, even after the King's reaction. He took her hand again as they were following the Queen, their son walking beside them and still looking so thrilled to be living those very important moments. Things were all right for now, she tried to reassure herself. She was going to be fine, she just needed to take things slowly and not push herself too far.

When she arrived to their destination, her eyes immediately met the two figures that were standing next to the huge table of the room. Kate and Chiara, her friends, the ones she'd been lying to for months while they were trusted her. They were staring at her and she let go of Killian's hand, staying still for a while and chewing on the inside of her cheek. She didn't know how they were going to react now that they'd learned the truth, and she was afraid that they were actually very mad at her. She was so scared to have possibly lost two friends because of her secrets, and she just kept on looking at them, somehow waiting for them to start screaming at her for her mistakes.

But they did nothing of the sort. After a few seconds, they both stepped forward and, without a word, they took Emma in their arms for an intense collective embrace that left her completely speechless. She could feel at the way they were hugging her that they weren't mad at all, and she suddenly felt a wave of pure gratitude for her friends. They'd already forgiven her, and she felt like she could cry about this wonderful observation.

"I'm so sorry." She said in a whisper, still holding them close to her heart. "I'm sorry I lied to you."

"We're not happy about it, but we get it." Chiara answered seriously, pulling away from her along with Kate to be able to look at her. "It's okay. We're alright."

"Really?" She asked anyway, just to be sure. She turned to look at Kate and make sure that she was hearing correctly and that they actually weren't angry, and she noticed that her friend was looking at her with a little reassuring smile. She hadn't lost them, and she couldn't have been happier about it. She was just so glad that she hadn't lost their trust despite everything she'd done.

"We know you didn't have a choice." Kate shrugged then. "You just wanted to protect your family. And if you lied about your name, you still let us see the real you. I know you weren't playing a part when we were spending time together. It's the most important thing. And..." She added with a comforting nod. "We're so happy that the Princess is finally back home. And we're glad that it's you we were looking for, because you're most definitely worth it."

Emma just shook her head, unable to make them understand just how touched she was by their statements. These words meant so much to her and she felt like she was about to cry from relief that her lies hadn't caused even more damage. She sniffed discreetly and finally smiled, gesturing for Killian to come stand beside her. She took his hand again and said, feeling her heart beating so fast in her chest at how happy she was that everything seemed fine at last.

"This is Killian Jones. He's the man who shares my life, and the one you know as Charles. Killian, this is Chiara and Kate."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you." He said warmly, smiling at her two friends. "Emma told me a lot about you."

That made the two women smile, and there was a second of silence before Kate placed her hand on her shoulder and met her gaze. She seemed so thrilled that the Princess had been found, finally, and that everything was right now that they knew the truth. She was also able to see how terrified her friend truly was about all of this, and she was trying to reassure her with this sweet little gesture. Her smile was comforting and Emma grinned back, just happy to feel this support still coming from her friends despite all the things that had suddenly changed.

"We'll talk about all of this later, but we should go for now." Kate stated then. "I know we have a lot to speak about, but you also need to be with your parents first. We just want you to know that we're still here for you. Nothing's changed between us, all right? If you need anything, just say the word and we'll be there."

"Thank you." Emma nodded, so moved that she just didn't know what else to say.

After one last smile, Chiara and Kate both walked away and Emma looked at them disappearing for a while before finally turning back to Snow and David. They were standing a bit back, but the Queen grinned at her when she saw that she was ready to talk. She was probably so impatient to get to know her more, and Emma simply hoped that she wasn't going to disappoint her. She was aware that she wasn't the daughter the couple had dreamed of, but she also knew that she needed to be proud of the person she'd become despite all the mistakes she'd made along the way. And they already loved her, even if she couldn't wrap her head around it just yet. They were going to accept her no matter what.

David was smiling too, but he still seemed a bit wary of Killian, even if he was calmed down since Snow's intervention. Emma could see that he obviously didn't like the fact that the man she loved was a former pirate, and she guessed that they would have to have a conversation about it sooner than later. She had to make him understand that he couldn't treat Killian that way, because he was a wonderful man and he deserved to be respected more than anyone.

Now wasn't the time for this, though. They needed to start off their relationship all over again, and she was willing to give them a chance. She was scared and had no idea of what her future was going to be like, but at least she had the people she loved the most by her side. And they were giving her the strength to keep going.

Killian guessed the demons that were stirring deep inside of her, the fear of not being enough and of disappointing the couple. So when they'd settled at the table, Henry sitting beside her, he kept her hand in his and leaned to press a tender kiss on her forehead. It managed to comfort her immediately and she noticed the happy glance that Snow was giving them, even if David was eyeing them somehow suspiciously.

The Queen was glowing now, and she looked at Emma like she was the most precious thing in the world. It gave her the absolute certitude that whatever she did now, Snow wasn't going to feel like her new-found daughter was failing her, and she felt herself relax just a little bit more.

And finally, after a little while, Emma found the courage the break the silence that had settled around them and she asked a bit shyly. "So, what do you wanna know?"

"Well, you've told us a bit already, but you never got into details." Snow answered warmly. "What if you shared the story of how you two first met? You seem so close, I'd love to hear your tale."

Emma felt Killian smile and she pressed his fingers a bit tighter between hers. She was so happy that Snow had very obviously tried to choose a subject she was comfortable with, and she felt way more confident talking about their love than about anything else on that moment. So she started with a grin, diving back into these memories that had driven them to this day.

"Everything started one night where I was working in the tavern..."

* * *

They talked for hours. After telling the couple all about how Killian and her had met at Henry's greatest pleasure, they spoke about hundreds of things, careful to avoid sensitive subjects and just trying to cover more joyful topics that were making them smile. Even David seemed in a better mood, and Emma was finally feeling like she didn't have to worry anymore when the question she had been dreading so much was finally asked in a light tone, as if it were not important while it was probably going to change her entire future.

"So, do you want to stay here, now?" The Queen said suddenly.

She was still smiling, but Emma could feel the fear beneath her words. She was so scared, scared that her little girl was going to slip through her fingers again, scared that she hadn't been able to make her stay and was going to lose her. Her heart tightened and she felt like she couldn't hurt these people that were expecting so much of her. But she also couldn't promise them that she was going to stay with them forever. She wasn't ready for that. She wasn't ready to be a daughter.

So she turned to Killian to ask for his opinion about all of this. He was still holding her hand and he just smiled at her to show her that no matter the decision she would end up taking, he would still be there, right by her side. In his eyes, she only read love and trust, and he didn't seem to be worried that their future could completely change because of this. He just seemed happy that she was starting this journey to find herself, and as he was silently promising her to follow her lead, always, she remembered what she'd decided earlier for her own sake.

_Baby steps._

She couldn't promise that she was going to be there for the rest of eternity, but she could still reassure them. Because she didn't want to leave right away, she was sure of it, especially since Henry seemed so happy about this twist their lives had taken. She wanted to know more and wasn't ready to leave this place just yet. So she took a deep breath and finally answered, hoping that she wasn't going to break their hearts.

"I don't know." She immediately saw pure sadness appearing in their gazes, and she added hastily because seeing them like that was unbearable. "I can't tell you if I want to stay here or not yet. This is all so sudden and we have plans for our future. But what I can tell you is that I want to be here tomorrow. I don't want to leave you right away. And after that, well I guess we'll just take it one day at a time. Is that alright?"

Snow nodded and said in a gentle voice. "Of course it is. We understand, Emma. We're just happy that you're here with us right now."

She sighed in relief, so glad to realize that they didn't seem hurt by her lack of decision. They were getting it. They'd probably expected their daughter to be so happy to find them back, but now that they knew more about her and her past, they could understand how hard all of this was for her. And she felt so grateful that they were giving her the opportunity to choose her own destiny. She wasn't trapped, and it made a heavy weight disappear from her shoulders. Everything was going to be just fine from now on, she could tell.

Snow started again after a second, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Since you're staying over, at least for tonight, we'd like to offer you to stay in the room that was planned for you since the beginning."

Emma blinked in surprise and she just turned to Killian again, seeking an answer to this suggestion that she hadn't expected to hear. She wasn't sure that this idea was a good one. Accepting this would make them believe that she was going to stay, what wasn't necessarily the case. And moving all of her belongings from her bedroom to the Princess' one would make things so real. She really was their daughter and she wasn't sure that she could admit it just yet. She was feeling like she wasn't meant to do such a thing, and would only end up hurting the couple and herself in the process. Wasn't she going to give them false hopes? She just didn't want to cause them any pain.

The King instantly noticed her reaction and he said reassuringly. "Accepting this doesn't mean anything, Emma, I promise. We understand that you can't decide on what to do right away, and that's all right. But we just want you to experience at least one night in the room that should have been yours." He didn't seem that happy that Killian was going to share this with her, but he didn't look at him and didn't say a thing. He knew this moment was too important to take the risk to ruin it.

"And if you don't want to sleep there, it's okay as well." Snow continued. "We're just glad that you're here, even if it's only for today. It's your choice. We don't want you to feel forced to do anything."

She was still wavering when she felt the light squeeze Killian gave her fingers, as if to encourage her to take whatever decision felt right to her, no matter the consequences. And if she was listening to her instincts, she knew exactly what to do. It was hard and it was crazy, but it just felt like it was the best decision to make. So, finally, she said with a little nod. "Okay. We'll take the room."

The smiles that spread on the couple's faces told her that she'd done the right thing.

* * *

"Can you promise me something?"

"Anything, my love."

Killian's answer made Emma smile slightly, and she snuggled a bit closer to his chest, her head resting just over his heart. They were both lying in the huge bed of the Princess' room – her room – and she had to admit that she was feeling way more comfortable than she'd thought she would at first. She'd moved her belongings during the afternoon and had realized that doing so wasn't such a big deal after all. It was just a place, it didn't mean anything. And it was offering them an appealing new intimacy, since the room she'd occupied before was empty and Henry was sleeping on the other side of the hallway, too far to hear anything. They were alone for the night, and she was certainly not going to complain about that.

All wrapped up in the arms of the man she loved, she was feeling like nothing had changed at all, like she wasn't an entire new person because of this. She was still Emma Swan. And with these new certainties, she felt almost confident about their future.

She was exhausted, though. Her birthday was coming to an end, and it was definitely the craziest one she'd lived yet. Finding out that she had parents the day before, then learning to know them and ending up staying over at the castle was one of the most insane things she'd ever gone through in her life. And gods know that she had lived a lot already.

She still couldn't really believe that this was all happening and wasn't sure how she was feeling about it anymore, but she was definitely reassured now. The couple had been lovely all day, if it wasn't for David's strange behavior towards Killian, and they hadn't pressured her into anything because they knew just how hard this was for her. They'd just talked for hours about their respective lives and they'd organized a quick gathering with the other employees to tell them that she was the Princess, what had made Henry happier than ever. All was good for now. And she damn well intended to enjoy this moment of quiet after the storm.

The night before had been anything but restful and she was feeling her eyes closing on their own, but she didn't want to fall asleep right away. She was feeling so safe in Killian's arms, so loved, and she knew their future wouldn't get ruined by these new events. They were reunited at last, and she felt like anything was possible now that they were back together.

She waited for a second before continuing, then she finally said in a soft voice."Promise me that we'll never be apart again, all right? These few months without you have been so hard. I never want to be away from you ever again."

"I promise, Swan." He answered without even having to think about it. "I never want to be separated from you or Henry. You're my everything, Emma, and nothing makes sense without you."

"I know exactly what you mean, because I feel the same way about you." She whispered. "No matter what happens, we'll stay together, now."

"And whatever your decision ends up being, I'll follow you everywhere, my darling." He added. "Home is wherever you and Henry are. You've given me everything, and it doesn't matter if we're here or in another universe. If you're happy, I am too."

"I love you, Killian." She simply stated, because she didn't know what else to say. He really was perfect and their love could conquer anything, she was so convinced of it. "More than I could ever say."

"I love you, too, lass. A bit more every day. And nothing will ever be able to break us apart, because our family is stronger than anything."

She sighed in happiness against him, and he leaned to press a kiss on her lips as a soft promise that everything was going to be okay.

Despite all the changes and all the emotions she'd gone through that day, she slept well that night.

* * *

"I don't know if I can do this." Emma whimpered, smoothing her long white dress for the umpteenth time in a few seconds. "Gods, what am I doing?"

"It's all right, love." Killian answered, searching her eyes and squeezing her hand in his. "Of course you can do this. You can do anything. We all believe in you."

She shook her head, her throat horribly tight and her stomach painful with pure anxiety. She didn't know what to do with herself anymore and was finding it hard to breathe. Seeing her distress, Killian ignored the fact that they were in the middle of the castle with several people surrounding them, and he placed hand and prosthesis on her shoulders, bringing her close. He rested his forehead against hers and said in a whisper. "It's okay, Emma. I'm right here with you. You have nothing to fear."

She took a deep breath and looked up at him, losing herself in the blue of his eyes. She immediately felt her heartbeats slowing down a little and she nodded, comforted by the touch of his skin against her. She didn't know how he knew exactly what she needed to hear every single time, but it was definitely doing the trick as she was already feeling a bit better. He was there with her and, on that moment, it was all that she wanted to know.

Still, she couldn't believe that she'd accepted the offer Snow had made them the day after her birthday. She'd asked if she wished to stay over for the night again, and after she'd said yes because she still wasn't sure of what she wanted to do and staying at the castle felt like the right thing for now, she'd talked about something that was terrifying Emma beyond words. She just hadn't dared to refuse because she knew this moment was important, but she was now feeling unable to do what was expected of her.

Because she had to introduce herself to the citizens, and she wasn't sure just how she was supposed to do that.

She'd done it before, and yet it'd been so different back then. She'd stood in front of hundreds of inquiring eyes and had even felt confident for a little while. But this wasn't the same, at all. She wasn't an assistant anymore. She was the Princess, whether she wanted it or not. And she was asked to stand on that same balcony, in the exact same conditions, except that now she had to say the entire truth. She had to admit that she was Emma Swan, after trying to hide it for so long. All of that in front of a crowd of people that had no idea of what was going to happen.

Gods, she was going to throw up.

She definitely wasn't ready to confess that she was the Princess in front of an entire kingdom while she barely could admit it to herself yet. She had been at the castle for only two days and she wasn't even sure that she was going to stay there. And she didn't want these people to see her as royalty, because she wasn't feeling that way at all. She didn't want any of these responsibilities that were going to be placed on her shoulders and she definitely didn't want anyone to think that she was a ruler of some sort. Because she would probably never be and she was simply staying at the palace right now because knowing more about her birth parents seemed important. She was nothing a princess was supposed to be.

And yet, she'd accepted to do this because she knew that this was crucial. The people needed to know that the Princess had been found, and even if she wasn't staying forever, they deserved to hear the truth. She had to tell everyone who she really was, and it was scaring her to death. She was afraid of what they were going to think about this past that she'd tried to escape from for so long. If she was probably safe because she was the daughter of a royal couple, she couldn't lead the discreet life she'd dreamed of beside her son and boyfriend anymore. Everything had changed already. And it was horrifying.

After agreeing to Snow's proposition, she'd been so anxious that she'd barely managed to sleep at all the night before. And as she'd finally fallen into her dreams, she'd woken up in panic, her heart beating so fast she had thought that it was going to explode. Killian had managed to calm her down with a few gentle words, though, and he was doing the same now. He really was her rock through all of this, and she just breathed him in, so thankful to have him by her side.

Everything wasn't that bad, she tried to reassure herself. Even if she was scared, Henry was happy there at least. He was treated like a little prince by everyone at the castle, and the King and Queen – she just couldn't think of them as her parents, not yet, it was too soon – were doing everything in their power to make her feel comfortable while she was there with them. She'd been through much worse and she had to see the good side of things. She was indeed now sure that she could offer Henry the future that he truly deserved, because no matter if they lived at the castle or elsewhere, the royal couple would never let them be in difficulty again. Her little boy was finally able to simply be a kid for the first time in his life, without having to worry about starving or being in danger, and she was so incredibly happy about that.

Still, she was absolutely terrified right now, because the citizens weren't expecting to find her up there and she was scared of what they were going to think about all her revelations.

Because if they already knew that the Princess had been found, they knew nothing about her. She hadn't even gotten out of the castle since she'd entered it a couple of days ago on her twenty-ninth birthday. She didn't want to imagine their reactions when they would understand that this girl they'd been looking for was her all along, the one that had been hired to be her assistant in the first place.

And she wasn't sure of what to tell these people. She was going to confess her real name, it was not like she had a choice anyway, but she really didn't want to talk about her past. It was still painful and she wasn't naive, she knew how they were going to react when they would learn that she'd been a thief and that she was wanted for murder. She wasn't risking anything anymore, but they were surely going to hate her, and she didn't need that in addition to everything. But at the same time, she couldn't lie to them either. They were going to know about what she'd done sooner than later since it wasn't complicated to find out with her real identity. And she wasn't sure if it was better to let them discover her past by themselves, or to be honest since the beginning.

She felt like she was about to crumble under all this stress. Standing in front of the still closed windows leading to the balcony, she could hear the noises of the crowd in the streets as they were all so excited to finally meet the Princess. And she didn't feel like she was able to offer them what they were hoping for. She wasn't the perfect girl they'd imagined in their dreams. She was flawed, life had tried to break her many times, and she just wished that they could understand that. She didn't need to be hated by the entire world, she had enough on her plate already.

"We're in this together." Killian continued gently. "We'll be fine."

"I love you." She simply answered, because these little words were giving her the strength she needed to move forward.

"I love you." He said back, with so much softness her heart fluttered.

She finally pulled away from him, but kept on tightly holding his hand. She needed to do this and now she just wanted to get it over with. And no matter what these people would think about her. They couldn't understand because they didn't know her, but she knew who she was. She was just someone who had made mistake, all for protecting those she loved. She simply was a woman trying to do the best she could every day, and she couldn't be ashamed of the person she had become. After everything she'd been through, she'd turned out to be not that bad after all.

Snow seemed to notice how worried she was, because she suddenly approached them and asked, snapping her daughter out of her thoughts. "Is everything all right, Emma?"

She took a deep breath before answering, just trying to remain calm, but her voice was a bit shaky when she finally talked. "I'm not sure I'm what they're expecting."

"They're not expecting anything from you, honey." the Queen reassured her. She looked like she wanted to take her in her arms to comfort her, but she probably knew that a hug was still a bit too much for her, so she simply took her hand and gave it a light squeeze instead. "They're just excited to finally meet the Princess."

"But how will they react when they'll learn that I'm a criminal?" She said, chewing on her bottom lip. "Even if I don't tell them, they're going to learn about my past eventually. And then..." She didn't finish her sentence and looked down, letting go of a huge sigh of despair.

"Emma, listen to me." The Queen answered, frowning at her words. "We've all made mistakes. I've been a thief too, and they all know it. If they accepted me for who I am, they'll accept you too."

"Do you think I should tell them myself?" She asked without even realizing the step she was taking toward her birth mother by searching for her advice. "I mean, you know these people. You know what's the best thing to do."

"I think you should listen to your instincts and do what feels right." Snow smiled, looking truly touched that she was asking for her opinion.

"And if you don't feel comfortable telling them yourself, we can do it for you." David added, as he'd listened to the entire conversation. "Everything is going to be all right, I'm sure of it."

"You don't have to worry, Mom." Henry said, standing beside her and looking pretty excited that they were about to introduce themselves to the kingdom. She could understand that easily, he'd dreamed about this moment for years after all. "They're going to love you."

"If I'm sure of one thing, kiddo, it's that you're the one they're going to love." She answered with a small smile, what made her son grin widely.

"The lad is right, darling." Killian added then, dropping a little kiss to her temple. "I'll be with you every step of the way."

She nodded and closed her eyes for a second, before finally looking at Snow and David to show them that she was ready. The sooner the better, and she just wanted to be done with this. The Queen let go of her hand and Emma took Henry's instead to feel her two boys close during this very important moment. She watched the couple approaching the still closed windows, and they looked at each other before linking their fingers in happiness. She realized just then how ecstatic they probably were to be able to introduce her to the world. They obviously weren't ashamed of her troubled past at all. And she tried to convince herself that if they'd accepted her, then maybe the kingdom would as well.

She really hoped so anyway.

The King and Queen waited for a second, as if to etch this moment into their memories, then they gestured for the guards to open the huge windows so they could reach the balcony. The noises of the crowd were deafening, but everything went quiet at once when the citizens noticed that the couple had arrived. Emma was blinded by the sunlight for an instant, and she squeezed Killian's hand a bit tighter, trying to take some deep breaths and stop shaking so much.

They stayed back in the shadow as they were watching David and Snow stand there in silence for a couple of seconds. The Queen's voice was very obviously amplified with magic when she started to talk, just like it'd been when they'd introduced Emma as the Princess' assistant all those months ago. These situations were so similar and yet so different that it made her feel dizzy. But she forced herself to stay calm and focus on Snow instead of panicking, her heart pounding so fast she wondered if everyone could hear it too.

"Today, it's with an immense pleasure that we can finally tell you that we have found our daughter after months of research. Having her back beside us, even if we haven't decided for how long yet, is our greatest honor. We discovered who she was three days ago, and it's now time for you to meet her, too. So we would like to introduce you to Emma Swan, the Princess."

Hearing this title following her name was so surprising Emma stayed motionless for a while. She knew she should have joined the royal couple on the balcony so everyone could see her too, but she was too overwhelmed to do anything. It's Killian and Henry that managed to bring her back to reality, both pressing her hands between theirs at the exact same time, reminding her how to breathe again. She shook her head and, with the two people she loved the most by her side, her stomach in knots and her surroundings spinning a little bit around her, she finally did what she had to and stepped forward to face the hundreds of people gathered in the streets.

She didn't dare to look at them at first, but she could hear the astonished whispers the citizens where sharing at her sight. She'd expected that to happen, since they probably had no idea of what was really going on. They knew her as Leia, the Princess' assistant, and they couldn't grasp just yet the reason why she was standing there now.

She turned to Snow and David to see how they were going to deal with this situation, but they didn't seem worried at all. They even had small smiles on their faces, and the King started to talk after a minute, his voice clear and confident. "You can probably all recognize Leia Stark, who we've hired a few months ago to be the Princess' assistant. Little did we know who she really was, and she was as surprised as we were when we finally saw the truth. Her real name is Emma Swan, and she's our daughter."

"You already know Henry, her son." Snow added cheerfully. "But we would also like to introduce Killian Jones, Henry's adoptive father. Emma, do you want to say a word?" She offered, as a stunned silence had filled the place.

Emma wavered for a bit, not really knowing what to do but feeling like she had to say something. The silence of the crowd was oppressive, and she could feel their stares burning on her skin. But she still mustered the courage to take this decision she'd been so terrified about. These people deserved the truth. They deserved to hear it from her, too. She had to take a leap of faith and tell them everything herself. It was scary as hell, but it was the right thing to do.

So she finally looked up at them and said awkwardly, shaking a bit but determined to put an end to all these secrets. "Hum… Hi." She hesitated at first, but Killian stroked the back of her hand with his thumb, giving her the strength she needed to continue. "Believe me, I'm the first one surprised to know that I'm actually the Princess, so I can understand your reaction. I don't know if my family and I are going to stay here yet, but I have to tell you something important before we take any decision about our future. I've kept enough secrets for the rest of my life, and you deserve to know the truth. The thing is, I had a very good reason to hide my real identity from everyone."

She took a second to calm herself down, her heart still beating so fast it was making her feel like she was going to be sick. She turned to meet Killian's gaze and he just tenderly smiled at her to silently encourage her to continue. The pride she read in his eyes told her that she really was doing what was right, and it reassured her a little bit. So she turned toward the silent mob again and she carried on with her confession.

"The reason why I chose to be known as Leia Stark instead of Emma Swan is because of a terrible thing that happened months ago and that we've tried to hide for so long. The truth is, we're wanted in a distant part of the Enchanted Forest, because… well, because we've made mistakes. Big ones. We were in a very bad position and I… I killed a man." She stuttered, looking down once again and so scared of what the crowd was going to do now, but they all stayed quiet and so she continued. "I never meant to hurt anyone, I just wanted to protect my family, and it simply happened. It doesn't make what I did any less awful, though. Coming here was a complete new start for us, and I had no idea that I was going to find my birth parents. I know you weren't expecting the Princess to be someone like me, but I wanted to tell you the entire truth. It feels like the honorable thing to do."

She stopped then and closed her eyes for a few seconds, waiting for what was next, possibly insults or all the horrible things she could imagine on that moment. But when she looked back at the citizens again, the silence was still so thick she could hear the wind blowing in the trees. Everyone was staring at her and she started to shake a bit again, afraid by this reaction she couldn't understand. She turned and tried to find comfort in Killian's eyes, wanting to escape this horrible situation. He tried to smile, but it was obvious that he was deeply worried too. She was well aware that she'd completely exposed herself to these people she didn't even know, and that all that was left to do was hope that they wouldn't hate her for it.

But after a few more seconds of quiet, someone standing in the middle of the crowd started to slowly clap. The sound seemed so absurd in her situation that it made her startle. And soon after, another person followed, than everyone gathered at their feet, and she needed a few more instants to fully understand what was happening.

They were cheering for her.

She'd just admitted to killing somebody, and they were actually clapping. This couldn't be real. This was way too insane. This simply couldn't be happening and the only explanation was that she had to be dreaming.

She knew deep down that it wasn't the case though, and she turned toward Snow to ask in disbelief. "What's going on?"

"You were honest with them, Emma." She said with a proud smile, as if it were explaining everything.

"But… what I did was so wrong. Why are they cheering? Can't they see how horrible my actions were?"

"Of course they can, but they're thanking you for your sincerity. What you just did was really brave, and they're just expressing their gratitude that you told them the truth."

There was a second of surprised silence between them before Killian added, his voice deep and serious. "Well, in that case, I have to be honest too."

Emma turned to him and blinked a few times, staring at the man she loved. He seemed terrified, but he still tried to smile at her to show that he was okay. She knew how huge this decision was for him too, and she felt so proud of him she had to hold herself back from kissing him senseless on the spot. Now wasn't the time, but he really was the most wonderful man, and she just prayed that the citizens were going to see this too. She wanted to have faith that everything was going to be fine, though. The fact that Killian had the most amazing heart was too obvious for anyone to miss it.

So as the crowd had finally settled down a little, she briefly placed her head on his shoulder to show her support, feeling tears appear in her eyes at this crucial step they were taking together. And she listened to him as he was talking, feeling like she was falling in love with him all over again at how incredibly brave and wonderful he was.

"Emma told you the truth, and I admire her so much for that. So now, it's my turn. My name is Killian Jones, and if most of you don't know me, you've probably heard of the moniker that I don't use anymore, but that seems to follow me everywhere. I'm best known as Captain Hook." He said, and his sentence was followed by surprised whispers all over. He was still wearing the wooden prosthesis instead of his hook, and no one had expected this sudden revelation. "I've done horrible things in the past, and there's not a day that goes by that I don't regret hurting so many people. But I was fortunate enough to meet Emma and Henry and they changed my life. They gave me a family, they healed all my scars and I became a better man for them. I love them with everything that I am and I would do anything for them to be happy. I still know that no matter how much I've changed, what I did all those years ago was awful and I don't expect you to forgive me. I just want you to know how sorry I am."

The stillness that followed seemed to last an eternity this time. They didn't do anything, they simply held their breaths, their hearts beating in unison as there was nothing left to do but wait. And after minutes or maybe hours, they just couldn't tell, the cheering ended up starting again and Emma turned to Killian with a relieved sigh, wrapping her arms around him to show him just how proud she was. Henry didn't take long to to join them in their intense embrace, and she felt at Killian's jerky breathing how touched he was by the kingdom's reaction.

They stayed like this for a while, lost in each other's arms, and she only opened her eyes again to look at the royal couple. She certainly hadn't expected this entire situation to happen and she couldn't believe that these people she didn't even know were willing to give them a second chance. Maybe this was just because they were happy to finally see who the Princess was, because she was pretty sure that they would have hunted them down for their crimes if her parents hadn't been their King and Queen, but she wasn't going to complain about this. At least, they were safe. They didn't need to worry about that anymore.

She saw how tenderly Snow was looking at them, a little smile drawn on her lips, but David seemed a lot less happy, arms folded and frowning deeply. She didn't try to understand his expression, too relieved about what was happening around her on that moment. She knew she'd got lucky, because she was protected by this new title she'd been given, but she was just so glad that she wasn't going to be separated from her family because of her past. Nothing would ever be able to break them.

Killian suddenly leaned to press a kiss to her forehead, grabbing her waist to bring her closer to him. She knew he would have wanted to kiss her lips instead, because this moment was so important to them, but he was well aware that he couldn't do that after admitting all their mistakes to these people. She still felt the endless love he had for her in this little gesture, and she completely melted in his embrace. Gods, she loved this man so much.

He was willing to follow her in this crazy, unexpected adventure, no question asked, just because he loved her. His life had been turned upside down, but he didn't seem to care as long as they were together. And she felt so grateful that they'd found each other and had fallen in love, because along with Henry, he was the center of her world.

Their future was uncertain, but at least they would never have to be apart again. And on that moment, it was all that she needed to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that the crowd's reaction can seem a bit surprising, but after everything that Emma and Killian have been through, I wanted to give them a bit of a break. No more big drama... At least for a few chapters anyway! See you soon!


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! I'm back with this insanely long chapter, even though it's a bit calmer than the previous ones (and it will stay that way for a couple of updates after this one, to let Emma get used to this new life.). I just wanted to specify something about the original characters I placed in this fiction : I didn't watch season 7 of OUAT, so if some of the characters have the same names than in that season of the show, it's totally an accident! (I hope it won't happen though, because it'd be a bit confusing). I hope you'll like this chapter!

"And that, Henry, is how David and I first met."

"Woah." Emma's son said in awe, settled on one of the couches of the library next to the royal couple. He'd listened to them intently as they were telling him all about their story, and he seemed absolutely amazed. "That's even better than in the books. I'm so happy I've asked you to tell me about it!"

"We have a lot of tales like this one if you wish to hear them." Snow answered with a big smile.

"Of course I want to! I love stories. Right, Mom?" He added, turning to Emma with a huge grin.

She returned it, glad to see how fast her little boy had gotten used to being in this castle. It was as if he'd lived there for his entire life, everyone adored him and he was even more thrilled now that Killian had finally been able to join them too. His smile never seemed to leave him anymore as he was surrounded by all this affection. Seeing him like that was making Emma's heart swell in happiness, because she would have done anything for him to be this happy forever.

This was one of the reasons why they still hadn't decided on what to do about their future yet. They were at the castle for one week now, and no one had tried to ask them if they wanted to stay or not again. Everyone was giving them the space and time they needed, and she was truly grateful for it. Killian had told her that he would follow her lead no matter what so, for now, she was keeping her resolution to take things one step at a time. She wanted to know more about these new-found parents before being sure of what she wanted to do next. At least they were safe and they had everything they needed there. Their situation had definitely improved thanks to this, even if all these changes were still a bit hard to accept.

She turned to look at Killian, who pulled her a little bit closer to his chest. They were both sitting in an armchair that was normally made for one person only, and they'd taken advantage of the lack of space to snuggle against each other. She was almost sitting on his lap, her legs above his, and he had his arm wrapped around her shoulders as her head was resting on his chest. She was feeling so good on that moment that she wished they could stay like that forever. Their son was happy, and they were all together. That was all she needed.

And Killian was being so supportive she felt like she was falling in love with him over and over again. He knew how difficult this situation was for her and how much all of these sudden twists had affected her. She still couldn't fully realize that Snow and David were actually her parents, and even if she wanted to maybe one day have a real relationship with them, she was aware that her walls had got right back up around her heart. Henry and Killian were the only ones that were about to break them down, and feeling them close was a true blessing.

The week that she'd just spent had been overwhelming, terrifying and incredibly hard, but if she knew that things wouldn't get easier right away because trusting the royal couple was going to be complicated, she was confident with her family by her side. Sooner than later, she would open up to her birth parents. She just had to make sure that she wasn't putting herself in any danger by doing so.

Right now, the atmosphere was peaceful though, and it was such a relief. Even if she was still a bit wary of the couple, she was already feeling much better since she'd introduced herself to the kingdom. They'd accepted her, everyone seemed to truly enjoy her company at the castle, she'd hadn't lost Kate and Chiara because of her secrets, and she was finally reunited with her family. A huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders, and she just needed to get used to the fact that she had parents. And who knows what decision she would end up taking. For now, she was content with simply doing what felt right.

Killian was slowly acclimating to this new life, too. He'd never lived like this before either, but he was doing amazingly well and she was so proud of him. All the employees seemed to love him, and he was always by her side when he felt like she needed his support. She knew that these changes weren't easy for him either, but he had never complained once. He was her rock through all of this.

The couple was also trying to do everything for her to feel comfortable while she was there. They would never ask anything from her, and she was so relieved that they weren't trying to act like her parents while she still wasn't ready to fully admit her new reality. It was obvious that they loved her and wanted to know her as their daughter, but they knew how unsettled she was and were thus incredibly considerate.

She was happy that they were so thoughtful, because she wasn't sure how she would have reacted if they'd started to tell her how to behave just because they'd discovered that she was their long lost little girl. They looked the same age and she'd been friends with them before, it was so hard to even wrap her head around the fact that they'd given birth to her. So she was glad that everything was going so smoothly until now. And she felt like maybe, with time, she could even get close to them.

"You still like the story of how your mum and I met better, though, right lad?" Killian gently teased their son, what made Henry chuckle slightly.

"You know that yours will always be my favorite."

"Ah, that's good to hear." Killian winked. "I have to say, yours is not bad either." He added to the royal couple, smiling at them.

Snow laughed as an answer, but David only let go of a low ominous growl that made Emma frown. She could feel that the air had suddenly become thick around them, as if the tension that had been present for the entire week was about to finally explode. She got a bit closer to Killian, waiting for what was coming with the disturbing feeling that something bad was about to happen.

Because if everything else was going fine, the King's attitude toward Killian felt very wrong. He was cold as ice with him, especially since he'd told the entire kingdom who he really was. David obviously didn't like the fact that she was in love with a man that had once been a pirate, but his rudeness was really starting to annoy her. Killian didn't deserve this kind of treatment. He'd come so far and she just wanted him to be respected. The King was being incredibly obnoxious, but she didn't know how to make him stop either. She didn't know him that well yet, after all.

Killian didn't even seem bothered by the King's behavior, and that was worrying her a lot. It meant that he thought he was deserving this, and she just would have liked him to see himself the way she was seeing him. He was an amazing man, and she was going to have a little talk with David sooner or later, because she couldn't let things go on that way.

Luckily, Snow's kindness was balancing David's discourtesy, as she seemed to truly like Killian. The fact that everything had gone okay until now was without the shadow of a doubt thanks to her. Emma vaguely felt like the peace wasn't going to last for long, though. Something was about to crumble and she discreetly braced herself for it.

In spite of her worry, the conversation continued normally as Henry was asking for another story. They all listened to Snow as she was talking, Killian's fingers gently playing with Emma's hair, what was making her heart stutter. She grabbed his hook to bring him even closer, so happy to finally feel the familiar touch of the steel against her skin again. She'd truly missed this, and she was so thrilled that they didn't have to hide anymore and that he could wear it again.

They'd talked for a long time before deciding that he should put the hook back where it belonged, though. If they weren't wanted anymore, Killian had been a bit worried that this was going to ruin the relationship she was slowly trying to build with the royal couple. David obviously didn't like him, and he'd thought that having a reminder of his past at all time maybe wasn't a good idea for their own sake.

She however hadn't agreed with him thinking about hiding again. She loved all of him, and to hell with the King if he couldn't see how wonderful Killian was. The hook was a part of him, she knew how important it was for him, and she just wanted him to be proud of himself despite the mistakes he'd made along the way. She just hoped that he would learn to accept himself too, one day.

Convinced by the speech she'd given him about how much she loved and respected him, he'd finally decided to take his hook back, what had led to pretty enjoyable activities because she was so proud of him. The adoration she'd read in his gaze as they were making love had almost made her heart burst, and she'd sworn that they were going to be happy, truly, no matter where they were. Together, always.

She sighed at these memories and he gently kissed her temple, as if he could read her thoughts. She smiled slightly and kept listening to Snow, relaxing a little bit as the tension that she had felt before seemed to have faded away. When the Queen started to speak about the moment her husband had woken her up from the sleeping curse, Henry grinned and said happily.

"I love these stories! You know, Dad tells me tales too. I can't even tell you how many hours we already spent just talking together. He taught me so much stuffs while Mom was working and we were alone on the ship. It's thanks to him that I know everything about the geography or our world, the stars, or how to navigate."

Killian smiled as his son was turning to him with his eyes shinning joyfully, and he answered kindly. "It's always been my pleasure, Henry. You know how much I value our time together."

"Wait a minute,  _Hook_. You've never had a job?"

David's question made Emma startle, and she felt Killian stiffening beside her. The tone the King had used had been incredibly aggressive, but it wasn't the only thing that had taken her by surprise. He'd pronounced Killian's former moniker with so much hate that she felt a wave of anger taking over her at once, and she thought that she was going to explode. This wasn't going to end well and everyone in the room seemed to know it as they were all suddenly silent, waiting for something to happen.

Snow was looking at her husband, frowning deeply. As Emma was about to tell David exactly what she thought about the way he was treating her boyfriend, she stopped when she felt Killian taking a deep breath next to her. He seemed determined to stay calm, and she just squeezed his hook a little bit tighter as he was answering, trying to pretend that the question hadn't been incredibly insulting.

"Well, let's say that when I left the life I was leading to try to be a better man for Emma and Henry, my reputation unfortunately followed me. I managed to find small jobs here and there, but never a permanent position. I worked a little bit when we arrived here as well, but when Emma got the job as the assistant, we both decided that it was better if I stayed on the ship with Henry while she was gone."

"Oh, so it wasn't because no one wanted you here either, then?" The King said, sounding so horribly mocking and Emma felt her cheeks reddening in wrath. "It probably was for the best, anyway, because you would have been disappointed otherwise. I would have been surprised if anyone had agreed to hire you around here."

"And why's that?" Killian asked calmly. Despite his apparent tranquility, his voice was a bit deeper than usual and his entire body seemed ready for a fight. Emma saw Henry nervously glancing at David, as if he could feel the storm coming.

"Well, because even if you changed your identity and your reputation didn't follow you here, hiding the entire truth was impossible. It's well known that pirates are good for nothing, after all."

"David!" Snow cried out immediately, grabbing his shoulder to stop him as he was about to continue, looking incredibly shocked by her husband's behavior.

But it was too late, the worst had already been said. His words seemed to ring in the room for a while, but Emma didn't take long to react as everyone looked too stunned to do anything. She could feel at Killian's jerky breathing that the insult had truly upset him, and she wasn't going to let the King get away with this. Killian wasn't going to defend himself because he was too scared of ruining the relationship the couple was trying to have with her, but this was too much for her. This was unacceptable, and David had gone too far.

So she left the comfort of Killian's arms to stand up, her fists clenched in anger. Looking at the King, she growled. "Apologize, right now. Take back what you just said."

David first seemed a bit worried about her reaction, but if he obviously knew that what he'd said was wrong, he still shrugged and answered. "Why would I? I simply stated the facts."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" She shouted, infuriated. "How can you behave like that with someone that you don't even know? How can you say such things to the man I love?"

"Because he's a pirate, that's why!" He yelled back, standing up as well to come and face her. They were inches from each other, jaw clenched and face red with rage. Everything was dead silent in the room, everyone scared to even breathe and anger them a bit more. "You're a princess, Emma! I never thought that my daughter would fall in love with a man like  _him_! Can you imagine what people might think?"

"I don't give a single damn about what people think, or about your stupid reputation!" She replied. She vaguely felt Killian moving in her back, as if to tell her that he was okay and that she didn't have to defend him, but she couldn't stop. She wouldn't let anyone insult him. "Killian may have been a pirate, but you're the first one to say that we've all made mistakes here. And he's a wonderful man, with the most amazing heart. But of course, you can't see that because you're too stubborn to even try to know him!"

"I don't want to know him!" David answered. "I wanted you to have a perfect life, not to be with someone like this!"

"Maybe if you wanted me to have a perfect life, you shouldn't have put me in that wardrobe in the first place!" She shouted, all the things that she had kept bottled up inside until then finally coming out because she just couldn't hold them back anymore. "Don't act like you care, now! And guess what? Killian is a thousand times better than you'll ever be. Because he's always been there when I needed him, he's the one who made me feel like I wasn't worthless or unloved, things that I felt all along because  _you_  gave me up!"

"You know that we didn't have a choice." David said more gently, looking truly touched by her words, but she had to keep going, even if she knew that this was somehow unfair. They'd been stuck in time for almost three decades, it was not like they could have found her sooner, but she was just  _so_  mad.

"Oh yeah? I think we always have a choice. Killian showed me that I could be loved when I thought that I would never be enough for anyone. And where were you when I needed someone to prove me that I wasn't nothing? When I believed that no one would ever want me because my own parents had abandoned me? He fought for me, while you simply placed me in a wardrobe without even knowing if I would survive. So you have no right to insult him! He's an amazing man, while I don't even know you enough to say that it's your case too!"

She saw tears appear in David's eyes, but she didn't give him the time to answer anything. She turned to Killian as he was staring at her, looking deeply worried by what had just happened. She reached for his hand and he grabbed her fingers, standing up to approach her as she was saying in a low voice.

"Come here. Come, kiddo." She added, holding her free hand out for Henry to take it. Her little boy, who had seemed so close to David until then, scowled at him and came to stand beside his father as if to show his support too. "Let's get out of here."

She didn't look back at the couple before leaving the library with her two boys by her side. She didn't want to see what was written on their features after what she'd just said. Everything had finally come to the surface, but if she couldn't feel guilty about getting mad at David because he had deserved it, she was already feeling bad about probably hurting the Queen. What she'd told the King was applying to her too, and she had never wanted to upset her in the process. She couldn't believe that everything had gone wrong so quickly while things had been absolutely fine barely a few minutes earlier.

No one talked for a while, but when they entered their room, she finally broke the silence, just wanting to make sure that her boyfriend was alright. "Gods, Killian, I'm so sorry about what happened..."

"Don't apologize." He answered immediately, trying to smile at her but it didn't reach his eyes, and she guessed how hurt he actually was to have had his past being thrown at his face so mercilessly. "What the King told me wasn't your fault, love. But, you know… It's not such a big deal. I understand that he's having trouble accepting me here. After all, I'm a…"

"Don't you dare finish this sentence." She cut him off, cupping his cheek to make him stop because she couldn't let him say those things about himself. "I'm serious, Killian, listen to me. You're the most wonderful man I know. You've always been there for Henry and me, and you're a hero. David had no right to insult you. I may be his birth daughter, but he didn't do anything to deserve being called a father. I love you, and I will never let anyone talk about you that way. You're perfect, please never forget that."

He looked truly moved by her statement, and he leaned to kiss her lips as a quiet thank you for her support. One tear rolled down his cheek and she gently rested her forehead against his for a second to try and comfort him. She just didn't want him to feel bad because of this. No on had the right to hurt him. And she damn well intended to show him just how amazing he was until he believed it too.

They were interrupted in their embrace by Henry, who had stayed unusually quiet until then. Emma could guess how mad he was as well, and he said vehemently. "He shouldn't have talked to you like that, Dad. Please, don't listen to him. You're the best father I could ever have wished for. David knows nothing and he's so wrong about you."

He approached his father for a hug, and Emma saw how touched Killian was by his son's words. They stayed like this for a while, hugging each other in the middle of the room, then they all finally moved to the couch that was placed in front of the fireplace. Emma took Henry in her arms and gently kissed his head, trying to calm him down a little bit as he was so angry that someone had dared to attack his father. He seemed finally comforted by the little gesture and, exhausted by all these screams, he fell half asleep against her.

The room had been quiet for a few minutes when Killian started to talk again. He was still looking a bit upset, but when he smiled, she felt like it was for real this time. "I'm so lucky to have you both. I love you, Swan."

"We're the ones that are lucky to have you. And we love you too. So much."

The kiss they shared then lasted for a few moments, before she placed her head back on his shoulder, trying to prove him that he really was the best man she had ever met and that David's words didn't mean anything.

* * *

Killian and Emma were so emotionally exhausted after the argument that they almost fell asleep as well, all wrapped up in each other's arms. She was finally feeling comforted with her two boys beside her. Her heartbeats had slowed down, and she promised herself that she would go talk to Snow later, because she was still feeling guilty about what she'd said. She really did understand why they'd given her up and she hadn't wanted to upset the Queen. So she wanted to have a conversation with her, but she needed to completely settle down before. She didn't want to risk saying something she would regret again because of her anger.

But Snow came to her on her own. Emma was snapped out of her slumber by three knocks on the door, and she blinked a few times to come back to reality, sleepily giving the permission to whoever was there to come in. She immediately recognized the Queen when she entered the room, and felt her heart starting to beat faster again. Seeing her obvious worry, Snow smiled and said in a whisper in order not to wake Henry up :

"Emma, can I talk to you for a second?"

She didn't answer right away, wavering a bit and guessing that her birth mother probably wanted to talk to her about the fight she'd just had with David. She didn't really want to speak about it, she just wasn't ready yet, but Killian gently squeezed her hand to encourage her and she decided to go anyway. The Queen hadn't been anything but lovely to her, and she knew that she needed to apologize. That was the perfect opportunity to do so.

So she nodded in silence and stood up, trying not to bother her son in the process. She kissed the top of his head and shared a glance with Killian to quietly tell him that she would be back soon. He smiled at her reassuringly, and she followed Snow as she was leading her into the room she'd occupied before, back when she was the assistant. It was a bit strange to see this place empty now, but she tried not to pay too much attention to it. She had more important things to do.

She really didn't know how to start the conversation though, and she suddenly blurted out the first thing that came to her mind "I don't want to talk about it."

"I'm not here to lecture you, Emma." Snow answered, looking truly surprised by her statement. "It's not my place to tell you anything, and what David did was wrong. I'm certainly not going to tell you that you shouldn't have reacted that way. Killian is a good man and he makes you happy, and that's what really matters to me. To be honest, I would have defended David too if someone had attacked him like that."

"Thanks." Emma just said, feeling so taken aback by her words. She waited a second before continuing and added almost shyly. "But… I do have to apologize to you. I mean, I hope that I didn't hurt you or anything. I didn't mean to blame you for what happened all those years ago. You didn't really have a choice, and what I said was a bit unfair…"

"Honey, you don't have to be sorry for anything." Snow corrected kindly. "You have every right to be mad, because you did grow up without us and it's all because we made this choice. We know how hard your life has been because of this, and how difficult the situation is for you now. So it's okay to be angry. We get it."

Emma blinked and stayed silent for a moment, not really knowing what to do. She hadn't expected to hear something like this at all, and she looked at Snow for a minute before finally admitting in a low voice. "I don't really know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything." the Queen assured with a comforting smile. She probably could see how uncomfortable Emma was, because she helpfully changed the subject and said cheerfully. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about a completely different matter."

"I'm listening." Emma sighed in relief, grateful for this sudden change of topic.

"Well, I thought about something important and wanted to know your opinion about it. I'm well aware that we don't know if you're going to stay here or not yet - and it's perfectly okay, you can take all the time you need to decide - but I think that we should talk about this now. I believe that since you're the Princess, your should have the help you need if you ever have to attend any special event or take an important decision. We chose you as the assistant at first, but since you can't play this part for yourself… Maybe it's time for you to choose your own adviser."

Emma truly hadn't expected this suggestion, and she took a second before answering in disbelief. "I'm not even sure if I want to stay here yet. Can't everything stay like it is now? I'm doing perfectly fine by myself."

"I know you are, but having someone you can lean on is important. And even if you don't stay at the castle for long, this assistant could help me and Kate while you're not there, and stay with you if you ever decide to come back for a visit. I know that Killian is always here to support you, but having another person you can trust will only be good for you."

"I don't know about this..." Emma said, chewing on her bottom lip in concern. This really was a huge step to take, because wasn't this tying her to the palace? Wouldn't it be harder to leave if she had someone there whose job was to take care of her, something that she could absolutely do on her own?

"I get it." Snow nodded seriously. "But maybe we can still organize a job interview and you can come and see if you want to hire one of the candidates before refusing the offer?

Emma suddenly saw an opportunity she hadn't realized existed yet, and she started to think deeply, weighing the pros and cons of the situation. It was obvious that the Queen really wanted her to have an assistant, even if she wasn't staying forever, and she didn't want to disappoint her. And perhaps she actually knew what to do in order to please everyone. She didn't need to look for a stranger, because she already knew someone she could trust and who would be interested in this position. This was definitely the best alternative she could possibly find.

So finally, as Snow was still looking at her intently, she said. "There's no point in hiring someone new if I don't ultimately stay here. But maybe we could find another solution. If we choose somebody that's already working here, they can go back to their old job of I ever decide to leave."

"Really?" the Queen said, looking suddenly very interested. "And who do you have in mind?"

* * *

"Chiara?"

Emma shyly entered the kitchens, looking all around her to make sure that her and her friend were alone. She'd waited for the other cooks to take their break before coming to talk with Chiara, who didn't seem willing to stop her activities despite everyone else being gone. The situation briefly reminded her of when she'd come to the same place to ask her for help all those weeks ago, and she smiled slightly. The fact that she was the Princess hadn't changed anything between them, and she knew that she could count on her friend, no matter what. Still, she was a bit nervous about telling her what she had in mind. She didn't know what she was going to think about it, and she didn't want her to feel forced to do anything.

The young cook turned when she heard her name, smiling. Emma was immediately filled with the amazing certitude that she'd made the right choice. Chiara was a good person, and she truly trusted her.

"Hey, Emma." She started cheerfully. She'd needed a bit of time to get used to her real name, but she seemed to finally feel more comfortable about it, now. "It's great to see you!"

"You too." Emma grinned. "Why are you still working while it's supposed to be your break, though?"

"I've already eaten, and I thought that coming back here sooner was a good idea. There are always things to do around here." She simply shrugged.

"You're brave." Emma leaned against the counter to look at her more easily, impressed by how hardworking she was once again.

"I just like cooking, it's no big deal." She chuckled. "So, tell me, why are you here?"

"Can't I come to simply have a conversation with my friend?" Emma teased, a bit taken aback by her question.

"I can see that you have something important to tell me. You seem nervous. What's going on?"

Amazed by how perceptive Chiara was, Emma took a deep breath before answering her. She really hoped that all of this wasn't a terrible idea after all. It was obvious that her friend loved her job and she didn't want to take this away from her. But she'd tried to get the job as the assistant too, and it was not like she would need her help at all time or was forcing her to accept her offer. Emma was doing fine on her own, she didn't really need an adviser and she was only doing this to please Snow. Her friend could get all the advantages of being the assistant, with a higher wage and position, without really having to go through a big change. That was good, right?

The Queen had been thrilled when she'd stated that she wanted to talk about this was Chiara, and Killian had found the idea brilliant as well when she'd told him everything. All she needed now was her friend's opinion. She just hoped that she wouldn't feel obligated to do anything, because this definitely wasn't the point.

Seeing that she was impatiently waiting for her to answer, she gave her a small smile and said "I may have something to offer you."

"I'm all ears." Chiara replied right away, obviously intrigued.

"Well… before I tell you anything, I just want you to know that you're not forced to accept. It has to be your choice, and if you want to refuse, it's okay..."

"Emma." Chiara cut her off with an amused smile. "I can't accept or refuse anything if I don't even know what you're talking about. Can you tell me what's happening?"

"Sure. Sorry." Emma laughed, realizing that she was indeed not making any sense. "Alright, here's the thing. When I discovered that I was the Princess, I obviously stopped being the assistant. And even though I don't know if I'm going to stay here or not yet, Snow wants me to choose someone to be my adviser. And… I thought about you for the job."

A stunned silence filled the room and her friend looked at her with wide eyes, as if she couldn't quite believe what she'd just heard. Suddenly scared by how quiet she was and worried about her reaction, Emma continued hastily, hoping that she hadn't said something wrong

"I mean, I'm just asking for your opinion about it. I thought it would be a good thing to choose someone who's in the castle already, in case I end up leaving after all. And I trust you, so I wanted to talk to you about this. I don't want you to feel obligated to agree, though. I promise you I won't be mad if you say no..."

Chiara didn't give her the time to say more. Finally starting to move again, she suddenly wrapped her arms around her friend for a hug. Surprised by this unexpected twist, Emma only reacted and embraced her back after a second, not knowing what this gesture was supposed to mean. At least her friend didn't seem upset, but she had no idea of what was really going on.

"Is everything all right?" She asked then, trying to understand.

"Emma, of course I accept!" Chiara said at last, pulling away from her and looking truly moved by the offer. "I'm just… surprised. But I'm definitely okay with this."

"You were the obvious choice." Emma was so relieved she couldn't help but smile. "I thought that this could just be an official thing, because it's not like I need a lot of help. You can keep on working in the kitchens if you want to, I know that you love it here. You can also go back home every night, I really can fend for myself. I'm just doing this to make Snow happy. But since you were here for the job interviews too, I thought that maybe we could work together."

"That's… amazing." She stuttered. "I can't believe that you want me to be your adviser."

"Of course I do. You've always been there for me when I needed you and you've forgiven all my lies without asking one question. You're a true friend, Chiara."

"Thank you for offering this." The young woman said, her eyes shinning with unshed tears of joy. "I'll always be there if you need anything, Emma."

"You can always count on me too, no matter what. That's what friends are for, and I'm so happy that we've met." Emma suddenly got surprised by how much she'd opened up to her, but she truly trusted this girl with everything that she had, and she felt so grateful to have someone like her in her life.

"I'm happy too." Chiara said in a whisper.

They hugged for a few more seconds in the middle of the kitchens, now knowing that they could always lean on each other no matter what. And damn, that certitude felt so good.

* * *

"Love?"

"Yeah?"

Killian took a second before continuing in a low voice, as if trying to find the right words to say what he had in mind "I know that we've avoided the subject up until now, but I believe that we have to talk about what we're going to do next, especially now that you've chosen Chiara as your assistant. What do you think?"

Emma closed her eyes for a minute and took a deep breath, knowing that even if it was terrifying, he wasn't wrong. She'd felt it coming when she'd told him about Chiara, if she was being honest. They needed to take a decision, even if it wasn't a forever one because she still wasn't ready for that. Taking things slowly had truly helped her to stay sane, but the royal couple was waiting for an answer, even if they were being careful not to pressure her. So it was obvious that they really needed to make plans for their future, now.

Killian immediately saw how worried she was, and he gently ran his hand through her hair in a soothing gesture. They were both lying down in their bed as the sky had grown dark outside, still naked after their previous activities. Her head had been resting on his chest for a long time, but she rolled on her side to be able to look at him and she took another second before answering, trying to gather her thoughts.

"I think that you're right. It's going to be hard, but we need to take a decision."

"If you're not comfortable with it, we can wait." He added to reassure her. "It was just an idea. I don't mind our situation at all. If you want to keep on taking things slowly, it's more than fine. Whatever makes you happy, darling."

"You're sweet, but we have to do this." She smiled slightly at his words. "We don't have to decide if we want to stay forever, though. We just need to make plans for the next few weeks, and then we'll see."

"I think that it's the best thing we can do for now, indeed." He said gently. "So, what do you want to do?"

"What about you?" She asked, because she didn't really have an answer yet and she wanted to know his opinion first. "You've been dragged into this, and I'd get it if you wanted to leave..."

"Emma, I've already told you." He said instantly, looking a bit concerned by her statement. "I don't care where we are. I'll follow you everywhere. If you want to stay here forever, it's perfectly fine. As long as I'm with you, I'll be alright."

She smiled and cupped his cheek for a second, looking straight into his eyes and once again amazed by his endless support. She thought about it for a while before answering, trying to know what she really wanted to do deep down. "Well, in that case… I think that I want to stay. For now at least."

"Then we'll stay."

"We can go back on the Jolly Roger whenever we want, though. I miss being there."

"Me too." He admitted. "But you're more important than any ship could ever be. I'll always be by your side, Emma."

"And I'll always be by yours" She promised, her heart fluttering at his words. She added after a second, trying to understand her own decision because she didn't even know why she wanted to stay so badly. She didn't feel like she truly belonged there yet, but her heart was yelling that she needed to be at the castle, at least for now "And maybe it's a good idea to stay. Henry is happy here."

"Are you?" He whispered. "Happy, I mean."

"Oddly enough, yeah. Despite all these changes and the fact that I don't feel like Snow and David are my parents yet, I am happy. But it's all because you and Henry are here too. I could never feel that way without you."

"Your happiness is all that matters, my love. And the lad truly seems thrilled to be here. So we'll stay, if that's what you wish to do."

"Your happiness matters too." She corrected. "I know that you've promised to follow my lead, but are you happy about this? We both have to feel comfortable here for it to work. I never want you to be miserable because of me."

"Come on now, lass. I could never be miserable because of you, because  _you_  are my happiness. And even if I can see that the King doesn't like me very much..."

"He will end up understanding how amazing you are." She cut him off, raising her eyebrows to stress her words. "That I can promise you."

"Well, even if this doesn't happen." He continued with a chuckle. "I'm okay here. All I need is our family."

Her thumb caressing his cheek, she looked at him for a while, still finding it hard to believe that he was real sometimes. Finally, she sighed "How do you do it to be so perfect? I love you, Killian. Thank you for living this adventure with me."

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else than by your side, my love." He answered with a small smile. "You make me happier than I've ever be. And I love you, too. Always and forever."

She blinked to try and hold her tears back, and approached him again to snuggle against his chest and listen to his heartbeats. He didn't seem worried at all by the huge decision they'd just taken together, and it calmed her down a little bit. All of this was incredibly scary, but she needed to learn more about herself, and for that, she had to stay at the castle for a while. And she was so damn thankful that she could take this journey beside the man who was her everything.

* * *

"We have to talk to you about something." Emma said out of the blue, but she'd finally managed to gather her courage and she wasn't about to risk changing her mind now. Taking a deep breath, she placed her fork back on the table and folded her arms, trying to stay calm.

She was well aware that she could have found a better moment than dinner to talk to the couple about the decision she'd taken with Killian the previous night, but she hadn't managed to hold herself back, wanting to get this over with. She already knew that they were going to be immensely happy, and it was scaring her a little bit. She didn't want to give them false hope, she didn't want them to believe that she was going to stay forever because of this. It was just for a few weeks. Their distant future remained uncertain.

She hadn't touched the food in her plate, her stomach too painful for her to be able to eat anything. Henry had the biggest smile on his face, as they'd talked with him about this decision before saying anything to anyone. His happiness had finally convinced her that she was doing the right thing, and she smiled back at him before reaching to grab Killian's hand from beneath the table. Snow and David's eyes immediately lit up at her words, as if they knew exactly what she was going to say, and she continued after taking another second to muster her strengths.

"Killian and I have talked about it yesterday. And… We've finally decided if we wanted to stay here for a bit longer or not."

Silence filled the room for a moment, and the couple shared a glance as Snow was asking, suddenly looking a bit nervous. "And?"

"We don't want to take a forever decision yet, so we don't know what we will really end up doing, but… we want to stay. At least for a few months."

Tears immediately appeared in the Queen's eyes, and she took her husband's hand, as David looked like he was about to start crying too. They stared at Emma for a minute and she understood how relieved they were that they weren't losing her once more. They didn't explode with joy, though, knowing that this would still have been a bit too much for her. Instead, they held their emotions back and Snow simply grinned as she was answering :

"That's great news, Emma. We're so glad to have you all here."

"We just felt like staying here for a while longer was the right thing to do." She said with a shy smile, feeling a bit comforted by their reactions.

"We're very happy." David simply added, his voice shaking a little bit.

Despite the joy she could read in his gaze, Emma barely looked at him. She hadn't forgiven him for what he'd said to Killian, and since he hadn't bothered to apologize, she was doing everything she could to avoid him. If she was aware that she would have to talk with him about all of this sooner than later, she didn't want to do this now. Everything was still so overwhelming, she didn't need this tension in addition to everything and ignoring him seemed like the easy solution for now.

They didn't talk much for a while after that, but Emma could see Snow and David exchanging strange glances, as if they were trying to speak without saying a word. It reminded her of how she and Killian could read into the other's mind too, and it made her smile a little. The atmosphere was pleasant now, everyone in the room seeming so happy that they had decided to stay for a few more weeks, and it's the Queen who broke the quiet again, saying a bit hesitantly.

"Well.. Since you're going to be here for another little while, there is something we want to tell you."

As Emma had finally managed to start eating, she stopped at once and looked back at Snow, a bit worried. She could guess at the tone she'd used to talk that something big was coming, and she wasn't sure that she was going to like it. The Queen smiled though, managing to relax her just a little bit, and she finally answered, chewing on her bottom lip.

"Yeah?"

"David and I are thinking about something for a few days, and we want to know if you'd be okay with it. You see, the kingdom knows who you are now, but we also need to introduce you to our friends. A lot of them are from far away, and we always throw a party to gather everyone when something important happens. That's why we thought about organizing a ball for you."

Emma suddenly felt sick, and regretted her previous decision to try to ingest something. A ball, seriously? She had never been to one, obviously, but she knew exactly what this meant. Dozens of strangers staring at her, judging her every move, and dances, while she'd never even learned how to waltz. She had always been wary of rich people, and if she'd understood that the royal couple was different since the beginning, it was probably not the case for their friends. Gods, she really didn't want to do that.

And yet, she could read in Snow's eyes that, if she still had a choice, this was also very important. And the Queen seemed so happy to finally be able to introduce her daughter to her friends, she didn't want to take that away from her. Maybe she was worrying for nothing. These people couldn't be that bad after all, right?

Emma miraculously managed to reassure herself with these thoughts, and she finally stated in a low voice. "I'm not going to lie and say that I'm comfortable with this, but I guess that we could try."

"You have nothing to be scared of." Snow immediately comforted her, looking so glad that she'd accepted. "Everyone is going to love you."

"When do you want to do this?" Emma sighed, far from being convinced by this last statement.

"We need time to send the invites and for everyone to get here, so we thought that next week would be perfect."

Emma bit the inside of her cheek to try not to growl in despair. She knew that she couldn't change her mind now, so she simply nodded, her stomach in knots. Killian gave her hand a gentle squeeze, silently reminding her of how to breathe. She had guessed that since she was apparently a Princess now, this was going to come sooner or later, but it wasn't making it any less terrifying. She just hoped that everything was going to go fine. This was just a ball, after all. She'd gone through much worse.

* * *

"Why the hell did I say yes?" Emma whimpered, walking the length of her room under Killian's slightly worried stare.

"Breathe, love." He tried to comfort her, but she just shook her head. "Everything's fine."

"No, it's not!" She cried out. "How am I supposed to stand before all these strangers that are surely going to judge everything that I do? These people will expect to see a real Princess, and I'm just… me. I'm going to disappoint them. They're going to hate me because I'm not meant for that kind of things."

Killian kindly placed hook and hand on her shoulders to make her stop pacing. He looked straight into her eyes and said in a gentle voice. "I know you don't feel like you belong here, but you're not giving yourself enough credits, love. You're amazing. They'd be fools not to see that."

"You only say that to make me feel better. This is gonna be a disaster."

"Everyone loves you here, why would these people feel any differently? Tell me now, darling." He added, raising her eyebrows at her "What's truly worrying you? I know that there's something else going on in that beautiful mind of yours."

She let go of a little sigh, genuinely surprised by his unexpected question. She'd waited to be alone with him to admit how worried she was about this upcoming ball, and trying to hide her true feelings from the couple had been incredibly hard. She was relieved to be able to panic freely now, and she was once again amazed to notice how perceptive Killian was. He knew that it wasn't all about the nobles that they were going to meet, and the way he was looking at her made her feel a little bit better as she was finally breathing again.

"How do you know that this isn't all about Snow's friends?"

"Well, I know that you have every reason to be nervous, but you've introduced yourself to an entire kingdom already, so you know what to expect. I can tell that this panic is coming from somewhere else. Would you tell me about it?"

She rolled her eyes, slightly annoyed by her own feelings. "You're gonna think that it's silly."

"It definitely isn't if it makes you feel that way, lass. I promise I'll never think such a thing."

She had a small smile and finally said with a little shrug. "They're going to expect me to dance at this ball. And you know that I've never learned how to."

He looked at her for a second without saying anything, obviously deeply thinking about something. Intrigued, she was about to ask him what was going on when a little smirk suddenly appeared on his lips. He raised an eyebrow at her, which made her chuckle despite her concern, and he pulled away from her to go stand next to one of the shelves of the room.

"Well, I may be able to help with that."

"What do you mean?" She asked, perplexed.

But she suddenly understood when she saw him take a small music box from one of the shelves, the gentle melody of a lullaby immediately filling the room. She could easily guess that the royal couple had probably got that item for her when Snow was still pregnant, imagining all the moments they could share with her, moments that had cruelly been stolen from them. It saddened her a bit, because she knew that if her life had been tough beyond words, they'd suffered too. They'd lost an entire life with her, after all.

These thoughts quickly left her mind as Killian was approaching her again, though, a bright smile still etched on his face. He delicately took her hand, placing his hook on the small of her back, and glued his body to hers, what made her shiver in expectation. In a low, gentle voice, he said "If this is what truly worries you, I can teach you how to dance." Without waiting for an answer, he gently started to waltz with her in his arms, and she followed his lead, smiling up at him.

"That's right. I forgot you knew how to do this." She said in awe, remembering all those times he'd made her spin in the captain's quarters of their ship. It had never been very professional, he'd mostly done it to make her laugh, and she had no idea that he was actually such a good dancer.

"There's only one rule. Pick a partner who knows what he's doing." He whispered to her ear, what made her heart skip a beat.

Their waltz was gentle and slow, the soft music still ringing in the room, but despite the fact that he was actually trying to teach her, she quickly felt the sexual tension building between them. A flame was now burning in the pit of her stomach, consequence of being so close to him, and the fact that he was always doing his best to try and comfort her made her feel like she was falling in love with him all over again. She could guess that he was sharing her feelings too, his gorgeous blue eyes darkened with lust, and it only made her want him more.

Finally, when the music stopped and as only their jerky breaths were audible in the room, he wrapped his arms around her and said against her lips. "You're a natural."

He didn't give her the time to answer. He lifted her up to lay her down on their bed, taking her dress off as she was tugging at the fabric of his shirt. When he entered her, she took advantage of the fact that no one could hear them and screamed her pleasure, his name escaping her lips. She didn't know how he did it to always make her feel like she was the most important thing in the entire world, but she wasn't complaining. She just couldn't believe that she had the chance to live the rest of eternity beside this incredible man.

* * *

"Emma, you look beautiful."

Looking at her daughter, Snow's eyes were shinning with something resembling pride, Chiara standing behind her and grinning slightly at the scene. It was the Queen who had helped Emma to get ready for the ball that was going to happen that night, but her friend had been there all along as well, wanting to know more about what she was supposed to do now that she was the assistant.

Snow placed both her hands on Emma's shoulders, as she was managing to offer her a weak smile, even though she was feeling like she couldn't even breathe anymore. And it wasn't all because of the tight corset that she was wearing. She was completely panicked about this entire event. If Killian had known how to reassure her during the week, dancing with her every night to show her that she could indeed do it, she was feeling completely lost now. She wasn't sure she was quite ready for what was coming.

Killian wasn't there right now, getting ready in a separate room since Snow had insisted that he shouldn't see her before the ceremony to keep her dress a surprise. She was alone with the Queen and her friend, and she tried to catch her breath because passing out was definitely not in her plans. She could easily guess how overwhelmed Snow was on that moment, though. Her first ball should have happened years ago, and being able to finally live this with her was very obviously filling the Queen with joy. Looking into her eyes, Emma tried to convince herself that if she had accepted her past, her rich friends would as well. Everything was going to be okay.

Blinking furiously to hold her tears back, the Queen finally said with a huge smile. "They're all going to love you, honey. We should go see if Henry is ready too now, right Chiara?"

"Sure." He friend answered with a reassuring smile in Emma's direction, adding in a low voice. "Don't worry, you're going to do great."

And without any further ado, they left the room and Emma found herself alone with her anxiety. She sighed, trying to calm herself down by remembering how ecstatic Henry was about this ball. He was getting ready with Killian right now, and the prospect of seeing him so happy was giving her the strength to move froward. So she finally turned to the big mirror of her room to be able to look at her reflection, shaking slightly with apprehension.

She'd chosen a silver dress, probably the most luxurious thing she'd ever worn in her entire life. It was delicate and beautiful, making her look like the princess that she was supposed to be. Her hair was tied in a low bun, and a discreet tiara was placed over her head, enlightening the gown. Emma found it almost hard to recognize herself in the looking glass. She had to admit that she wasn't looking so bad, after all. And she really hoped that this would be enough.

She sat down on her bed, massaging her temples to try and relax a little bit. Waiting for something to happen, alone in her big room and unsure of what to do, seemed like a torture on the moment. She knew that someone was supposed to come to tell her that the ball was beginning, but doing nothing was making her crazy. She tried to focus on what Killian would always tell her when she would start panicking. Maybe he wasn't wrong to try and convince her that she would be alright. Maybe she would actually have a nice time. She needed to stop worrying so much. It was not like she could do anything about this situation, anyway.

Three little knocks on her door suddenly made her startle, and her heart skipped a beat. It was probably time for her to go greet the guests, and she was suddenly feeling horribly sick. She stood up, her legs quivering a bit and trying to brace herself for what was about to happen, but the only person that she found behind the door when she opened it was David. Despite her relief that it wasn't time yet, and the days that had passed since their argument, she felt her expression hardening at his sight. He tried to offer her a shy smile that she didn't return, and he said a bit hesitantly while entering the room.

"You look gorgeous."

"Thank you." She said a bit coldly. "Is it time for me to go?"

"Not yet, we still have to wait for a bit longer. Actually, I'm here to offer you something." He stated, looking a bit taken aback by how distant she was, as if he'd expected their relationship to be magically fixed just because they were throwing a party. He added, wavering when he saw that she wasn't answering. "I thought that maybe I could give you a dance lesson before we get down there, what do you say?"

"That's kind of you, but Killian is a great teacher." She shrugged, still a bit harshly.

He let go of a little sigh and ran his hand over his face before saying, looking a bit defeated. "Talking about Killian..."

This change of topic caught Emma by surprise. She hadn't expected him to start speaking about the man he seemed to despise so much, and she was suddenly very intrigued. Seeing that she was listening, he gestured for her to go sit on the couch and he settled beside her as she was trying not to trip over her dress. He stayed silent for a minute, as if to gather his thoughts, then he finally said.

"I'm sorry, Emma. I truly am. You were right, I behaved like an idiot with Killian."

Her eyes widened as she couldn't believe that he was finally apologizing after all this time, and she briefly wondered what had made him change his mind, but she said anyway. "Took you long enough to realize it." It made him chuckle slightly and she continued. "But I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

"I already went to talk with Killian." He answered, and she raised her eyebrows, surprised. "He told me that everything was alright and that it was forgotten, so I want to apologize to you, now."

She didn't say anything, not really knowing what to answer. She was truly relieved that he'd finally realized how wrong he had been, but she didn't know how to react with him after being so cold for so long. He'd made mistakes and she was determined to forgive him, though. She just wasn't sure how to do it.

He placed a hand on her shoulder and kept on going seriously. "I truly am sorry about what happened. I talked about our reputation, but I forgot the most important : he makes you happy. That's all that matters. And you were right when you said that I've never been there for you, so it wasn't my place to say all those things. The truth is, Emma... I don't know how to behave with you." He admitted in an almost fragile voice. "I can still remember how my heart broke in half when I placed you in this wardrobe and watched you go. And now you've found us, you're perfect, and I have no idea how to be a father to you."

She felt truly touched by his confession, and she said, deciding that he deserved a second chance. "That makes two of us, because I have no clue of how to be a daughter."

"And yet, you're amazing." He said kindly. "I'm just scared that I'm going to ruin everything and that I won't be able to offer you what you deserve."

"We'll find a way to be a family." She stated to reassure him. "We just need time. And I forgive you. We all make mistakes, right?"

He finally smiled at her and she understood how relieved he was that she was accepting his apologies. So, wanting to show him that she was actually willing to start over, she did something that surprised her herself because she was still so closed off with him: she leaned to take him in her arms.

He immediately hugged her back, cradling her head exactly like he'd done the day he'd discovered that she was his lost long daughter. She understood just how scared he was, too. He was terrified of failing her, because he didn't know anything about her, except for the fact that she'd probably got her stubbornness from him. But she promised herself that she would try to build something with him, and with Snow as well. They deserved to have their family reunited, and if she needed time to trust them, she was going to do the best she could to open up to them.

The door finally opened once again, making them pull away from each other. They both turned to Snow, now standing in the room and looking at them with a tender smile on her face. Emma guessed just then that she was probably the one that had pushed David to apologize, and she was truly grateful for it because she felt like a huge weight had suddenly been lifted off her shoulders.

Snow chose not to make any comment on what she'd just witnessed, and she simply said. "It's time."

David offered her his arm and she placed her hand on the crook of his elbow, feeling a bit less scared about this ball after this conversation, because she felt that if the King had finally said that he was sorry, everything really was possible.

* * *

"Thank you all for being here today. We know that some of you come from very far away, and we're so happy to host you tonight."

Emma could hear Snow talking from the room she was waiting in. She was supposed to stay there until someone called her name to tell her that she could go downstairs and meet the crowd that had come to see her. She could hear the noises of all these people too, sounding cheerful and excited, and she felt an unpleasant shiver running up her spine. This really couldn't get any more stressful.

Killian was already down there with the royal couple's friends, waiting for her to join them. He didn't need to be introduced so formally, and she would have done anything to be able to just walk in there and stay discreet. But Snow and David had wanted her and Henry to enter the ballroom in a special way, and she took her son's hand as he was standing beside her. She could feel how incredibly happy he was, and she told herself that if her little boy was so thrilled, this situation couldn't be that bad after all.

He was dressed like a little prince and was almost bouncing up and down, impatient to go meet everyone. He'd always been a shy little boy, but he seemed so much more confident since he'd come to the castle, and she smiled at him, touched by his behavior. She knew he'd always dreamed of going to a ball to be like the heroes in his books, and she asked as he was grinning up at her.

"You happy, kid?"

"Yeah!" He said cheerfully. "I can't wait to meet everyone."

"They're going to adore you." She answered tenderly, what made his smile widen

A few more seconds went by and she could feel the knots in her stomach getting tighter as she wasn't sure that she wasn't going to throw up after all. She knew that she had to do this, but she was really worried about all of these strangers coming from so far to meet her. She felt like she was going to disappoint them. Rich people had always treated her like dirt, and she didn't know what was scaring her the most : if they hated her because of her past, or if they suddenly started to be respectful just because she was a princess.

Finally, the moment she'd dreaded so much arrived, and she heard Snow saying with a smile audible in her voice. "It's with the greatest joy, my friends, that we can finally introduce you to our daughter, Emma Swan, and to her son, Henry."

Emma did her best not to freeze on the spot and took a deep breath, still holding Henry's hand. They shared a glance and she couldn't help but smile again at her son's enthusiasm. Finally, together, they stepped forward to go join the staircase that was opening before them. She thought that she was going to fall over for a second when she saw all those eyes staring up at her, but she quickly pulled herself together and didn't stop walking. Despite her strong desire to avoid looking at all these strangers because she couldn't give herself the opportunity to start panicking, she held their gazes and focused on the sound of their cheering. She just had to get through that night, and then she would be fine.

She grabbed the banister as she was starting to walk down the stairs, drawing the courage she needed from the reassuring strength of the wood beneath her fingers. The sounds seemed weirdly distorted to her ears and she blinked a few times, desperately trying to come back to reality. At least, she noticed that the guests were smiling. She didn't feel good enough to return their grins, but they didn't look disappointed to see her and she just tried to keep on moving, because this was the best thing she could do for now.

She looked down at the bottom of the stairs and met Killian's blue eyes, feeling like her anchor to sanity. He was staring at her, lips slightly parted, as if she were the most beautiful woman in the entire world. She finally remembered how to breathe again, and everything seemed suddenly much less complicated. She just focused on joining her boyfriend, and she managed to smile at last.

When she finally arrived beside Killian, Henry let go of her hand, a happy grin still etched on his lips, and looked at his parents as they were staring at each other in awe. As the tradition asked them to, Emma faced the man she loved and they both bowed to greet each other. When they stood back up, he gently took her hand and said in an amazed whisper : "You look stunning, Swan."

"And you look..."

She stopped, her lip caught in between her teeth. He looked absolutely  _gorgeous_. He'd traded his usual clothes for something a bit more formal, but he was still dressed in this leather that she liked so much. She wanted nothing more than to kiss him into oblivion right now, but she also knew that this wasn't the time, so she smiled at him instead.

He shrugged, saying in a teasing tone "I know."

That made her snort and she shook her head, amused by his words. "Of course you know how good-looking you are. But I think that you look very handsome."

He grabbed her waist and brought her close, and they both faced the crowd before them. Everyone was wearing wide grins on their faces at how close they both seemed, and Emma finally allowed herself to relax. "You alright?" Killian asked, sounding just a little bit worried.

She nodded, sincere in her answer. Now that she was beside him and that she could see that all these people didn't seem that intimidating after all, she was already feeling better. She briefly placed her head on his shoulder and he kissed her temple as she was reassuring him. "I'm fine. Much better now that I'm with you."

"You really do look amazing." He repeated then, as if he just couldn't believe that she was real, what made her blush a little bit.

She was about to answer that he didn't look bad himself, but someone approached them and she knew that it was time to get to know everyone. She placed her hand on her son's shoulder, who still seemed as thrilled as ever, and braced herself for what was coming. From afar, she noted the presence of Granny and Ruby, that she'd already met several times before, and she waved at them, happy to see some familiar faces among all these strangers. They answered her cheerfully, looking both very happy to be there.

As the first people were starting to talk and ask them a few friendly questions, Henry suddenly grew quiet, his shyness coming back as he didn't seem to know how to behave in front of all these nobles he'd never seen before. Emma had to admit that she was feeling pretty lost, too. Snow's friends weren't what she'd expected them to be, at all. They were so  _nice_ , and she could tell that it wasn't only because they knew that she was the princess. It felt real, sincere. Almost every nobleman she'd met until then had been nothing but contemptuous, and she was so glad to see that these people weren't like that. At least she could live in a safe environment for however long they had left at the castle, and she suddenly felt so relieved.

As time went by, she got to put faces on names that she'd heard before, from the Queen or from Henry's stories. They talked a little bit with Princess Ella and Prince Thomas, who had just had a little girl, Alexandra, an adorable baby who stared at her with curiosity. Emma was surprised to notice that she actually liked this couple. They were friendly and genuine, and she could tell that they hadn't had an easy life either. Against all odds, she now really could see herself becoming friends with some of these strangers.

Among the other people that she ended up truly appreciating, there was Ariel and Eric, who were both friends with Snow for a very long time. She couldn't help but startle slightly when she heard Eric's name at first, all the memories of the man that should have been a father to her and had offered nothing but abuse coming back to life. Killian held her a bit closer, guessing her thoughts, and she quickly relaxed, knowing all too well that a name didn't mean anything and that the man who was standing before her now seemed nothing but lovely.

They spoke for a long time, meeting their five-year-old little girl, Melody, a small child with huge eyes and dark hair that was staring up at Killian, seeming completely awestruck. It made Emma chuckle, and her boyfriend crouched in front of the kid to take her hand and press a little kiss on her knuckles, saying gently "It's a pleasure to meet you, milady."

Melody blushed but smiled, and never stopped looking at Killian once as the adults were talking. Noticing this, he paid a special attention to her, including her in the conversation and asking her opinion about the party. Emma found all of this so adorable she swore that her heart grew twice its size in her chest. Killian was so damn good with kids, she couldn't have been happier that she had the chance to raise their son with him.

When Ariel and Eric walked away, Melody waving at them with a huge grin, she leaned to whisper to Killian's ear. "You're the best with children. Melody absolutely adores you already."

"I'm lucky to have you as my dad." Henry added then with a little smile.

Killian was left speechless, but she could see at his expression that he was truly touched by their statements. He leaned to press a kiss on the top of their son's head, and they kept on talking to the guests as Emma was finally feeling completely reassured. She couldn't believe that she'd worried so much about this ball, because she was actually having a good time. All was so good. And she didn't regret her decision to stay at the castle for at least a while longer.

It's only an eternity later that they finished introducing themselves to everyone in the room. Her feet were hurting and she was exhausted, but when Killian leaned to talk to her, his hand lingering on the small of her back, she felt all her energy coming right back up. "Now that we're free for a few minutes… Would you fancy a dance?"

"With you? Always." She smiled, not worried at all about dancing in front of everyone anymore, because all that mattered was the absolute love she was reading in his eyes, and she couldn't wait to share this moment with him.

Killian reached for her hand, winking at Henry, and she let him lead her to the other people who were waltzing in rhythm with the orchestra that was playing a gentle melody in a corner of the ballroom. She couldn't help but smile as he was pulling her closer, taking her into this dance that she'd become familiar with during all those evenings he'd spent teaching her how to do this. Her eyes looking straight into his, she lost herself in his gaze and felt butterflies flying in the pit of her stomach at how in love she was with him.

"I said it before." He whispered, and she wasn't even aware of all the guests around them anymore, too lost in their own little world. "But you're a natural."

"I've had a good teacher." She replied, what made him smirk. He briefly placed his forehead against hers before pulling away to make her spin, and she felt so connected to him she swore they'd suddenly become one.

There, waltzing in the arms of the man she loved, of her best friend and soulmate, everything suddenly seemed so easy. She felt like this wasn't so bad after all. They'd gone through much worse. Their future wouldn't get ruined by this, they were still free to do whatever they wanted. And with Killian and Henry, she had everything she would ever need.

And maybe for the very first time, she felt like she belonged in this castle.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! There's a few things that I would like to clarify before starting with this chapter. First of all, I'm not anti-David or whatever, I actually love the character and what Emma said in the last chapter was because she was mad about everything that was happening to her. You know how sometimes you say things that you don't mean when you're angry? Well, that's what happened during their argument. You'll see in this chapter that I'm a fan of daddy charming, and well, it's not because two people have a fight that they don't love each other, it happens all the time in families, right? The second thing I wanted to say was that in this fiction, Killian did not kill David's father, simply because it's not something that I particularly liked in the show. So this event didn't happen in this universe that I'm writing. That said, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter :)

The weather slowly got colder as winter was settling in. The days, the weeks went by incredibly fast, until Emma realized with genuine surprise that over a month had passed since she'd discovered that she was the Princess. No one had asked her what she wanted to do next again, because everything seemed obvious, for now at least. Her family was happy at the castle. They were getting used to this life, and didn't want to leave, not anytime soon anyway. And everything was so good it was hard to believe it sometimes.

One morning, she woke up to find the gardens of the palace covered in snow. She let go of a little gasp of awe, realizing that barely a year ago, she had just lost her job and they were starving, freezing, wondering if they would be able to survive. Their lives had definitely changed a lot since then. She would never have imagined them being in a castle, safe and sound. And here they were now, peaceful and settled, not having to worry about anything anymore. What had happened to them was still scary from time to time because it was such a huge change, but she was truly glad that they got to live that adventure together.

Killian came to wrap his arms around her waist, knowing exactly what she was thinking about. They spent a long time simply looking out the window, both knowing that they were lucky to be alive and healthy after everything they'd been through. Everything had shifted so fast, but she could tell that they were meant to be there. Their lucky star had finally found them, and she knew that they were going to be really happy some day.

Since the ball, she was finally feeling like maybe she belonged in this castle. Being introduced to this new world had truly helped her to feel like perhaps she wasn't a fraud. She was even doing her best to open up a bit more to Snow and David, even if her walls were still high around her heart, because she was scared of getting hurt again. But their relationship was slowly building, and she was starting to actually trust them, as they seemed like the happiest people on earth to finally have their daughter back by their side.

The only thing that was actually disturbing her in her new situation was the fact that she wasn't working anymore. She had responsibilities now that she was the Princess, but everything was fine in the kingdom and she really didn't have much to do. She'd been used to working twelve hours a day for her entire life and was now feeling a bit lost, not really knowing what to do with herself.

But this was also allowing her to spend hours with Killian and Henry, making up for lost time as they'd been separated for so long. Being able to see her son grow up and staying with him without having to leave anymore was a blessing. She felt almost at peace, sometimes, because everything was going so well. She wasn't used to her life being so simple and safe, and she felt like she could finally breathe after all the pain of the past.

Her relationship with David had surprisingly got so much better, since their little conversation in her room just before the ball. She'd gradually become closer to him, feeling a true bond appearing between them as they were learning to know each other. He was now accepting Killian as a member of the family, even sharing jokes with him from time to time, and Henry absolutely adored him. Emma would often go out to take walks with the King in the huge gardens of the castle, listening to his stories with interest and learning about this man who wanted nothing more than being a father to her.

Their lives had been a bit similar in some way, because he had also found himself with all these responsibilities all of a sudden, and she felt very connected to him. He talked about meeting Snow and about his own mother, telling her that Ruth would have loved her. She could see a real father-daughter relationship slowly appearing between them as she was discovering this loving, brave and strong man that was somehow always managing to make her feel safe.

And a routine settled as the days passed and they got used to this news life. Among all the things that they would do together at the castle, Henry, Killian and Emma would often go to the stables. Their son loved that place and the atmosphere was so warm and peaceful among the horses, it was making every worry they could still have fade away at once. David and Snow both had a mount, a little gray mare called Moon for the Queen, and a brown, majestic stallion called Mist for the King.

If Emma didn't know how to ride a horse, she loved spending time with these beautiful, intelligent animals. She could easily remember herself as a little girl, watching the nobles riding their horses with wide eyes as they were not paying any attention to the skinny kid sitting on the ground. Fascinated, she'd promised herself that she would have a horse too, someday. She would never have imagined back then that she would be where she was now, looking at David mounting Mist in the paddock as he was briefly teaching her about the bases of horseback riding.

In short, she was actually happy. Even if it wasn't the life she had pictured for her family, they were together and that was all that mattered. They would often go back to the Jolly Roger to be there for a few hours too, and no one was forcing them to stay at the castle, it was truly their decision. Her parents – she had finally accepted to see them that way, now – were getting closer to her, she had friends at the palace and her boys were never very far from her anymore. They had everything they could ever want there.

* * *

"We have a surprise for you." David stated one day with a huge smile as they were all finishing their breakfast.

Emma pushed back her empty plate and shared a surprised glance with Killian, who just shrugged to show that he had no idea of what was happening either. Henry almost jumped when he heard this word that was loved by so many kids, and Kate and Chiara, as always sharing their table, smiled as they obviously knew exactly what this was all about. Emma had always been mistrustful of surprises, and she asked a bit hesitantly :

"What do you mean?"

"Follow us, you'll see." Snow replied, smiling as well.

More and more intrigued, Emma stood up, imitated by Killian and Henry as her friends were staying in the dining room. Her hand all naturally searched for Killian's, their fingers interlacing as they were heading for the hallway. Snow advised them to put on thick cloaks in order to face the freezing cold outside, and they all stepped on the frozen ground, trying not to slip in the process.

Henry had the biggest smile on his face, overexcited by this surprise he still knew nothing about. As for his mom, she was trying to put her worry aside, because she was pretty concerned about all of this. Her past had taught her to never trust surprises because they were very rarely good ones, and she tried to convince herself that the couple would never do anything to make her uncomfortable. This had to be a good thing, right?

They got out of the property and into the city, not knowing what their final destination was. There were people everywhere around them, talking cheerfully as children were playing in the snow, and most of the citizens turned to wave at them, obviously very happy to see the family. It was obvious that Snow and David were very close to everyone and there was no need for formalities between them and the people of the kingdom. Everyone could come freely and talk to them, and it made Emma smile slightly. Her parents really were good people, and she was glad that she had the chance to know more about them.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice right away that they were heading for the stables of the city, were travelers could leave their horses to be taken care of, or sell and buy new mounts. She frowned a bit when she finally guessed that they were going there, not wanting to believe in the idea that was slowly blooming in her mind. Turning to Killian, she saw that he was now smiling, and he gave her hand a gentle squeeze. Soon after, Snow and David finally stopped in front of the stables, turning to them with huge grins on their faces.

"Okay." David said joyfully. "Snow and I have talked a lot about this, but you're at the castle for over a month now. You've been introduced to the citizens and to our friends, and they all adore you. So there's only one thing missing to your new life, now."

Emma somehow already knew where this conversation was going, but she couldn't quite believe it. She got closer to Killian until their shoulders touched, as Henry was looking at the couple in awe, obviously getting what was about to happen as well. They all stayed silent, waiting to know more, and David continued, visibly very amused by their stunned expressions.

"As you probably know it already, a lot of people have horses in this world. It's important in order to move around the Enchanted Forest quickly. Emma and Henry, I know that you don't know how to ride a horse yet, but we didn't really give you the opportunity to learn either. So it's time for this to change."

"We're taking you to choose your own horses today." Snow announced then, seeing that they were waiting for a confirmation and stepping aside so they could enter the stables.

Henry let go of a gasp of pure joy, immediately running inside, while Emma was too surprised to do anything but stay still, shaking her head in disbelief. Killian seemed pretty taken aback too, but the smile on his face told how thrilled he was about these news. She knew that he'd always liked horseback riding, even if he hadn't had the opportunity to do it in a long time. Wanting to be sure of what she was hearing, Emma asked in a whisper :

"Wait, are you offering us horses?"

"It was David's idea." Snow said happily. "Now, you don't have to choose a horse today if you don't feel like it. It's important that you trust your mount for all of this to work. We can come back another time if you want to. We just thought that it was finally time for you to have this opportunity. You all deserve it."

Emma's mouth gaped open and the royal couple smiled at her reaction before turning to go join Henry, who was already looking at the horses with pure happiness shining in his eyes. Emma and Killian didn't follow them right away, trying to process what was happening. She blinked, not believing that all of this was real, and she turned to her boyfriend to say :

"Do you think they've gone insane?"

"I mostly think that they want you to have everything that you ever wish for, love." He smiled at her comment. "I'm more surprised about the fact that they're offering this to me, too."

"They love you." She shrugged, and it was the truth because the couple had really grown to like him, seeing that he was a good man. "It's just… huge. I remember dreaming about having a horse when I was a kid."

"You deserve this more than anyone, Swan. And I'm so happy that you're finally getting everything that you ever wanted."

Truly moved by his words, she briefly turned to peck his lips. She was so grateful for his endless support, and she knew that he was thankful for hers as well. They were always there for each other, more in love than ever, and taking this incredible, crazy journey beside him was a true blessing.

They parted when they suddenly heard Henry letting go of a little cry of delight. Emma smiled against her boyfriend's lips, realizing that her son had probably found the horse of his dreams, and she finally entered the stables, keeping Killian's hand in hers.

Snow, David and Henry were all standing in front of a stall, looking at a golden, gorgeous palomino with incredibly intelligent eyes. He was still young and seemed barely out of training, staring at the little boy as he was stroking his mane. They seemed to somehow be communicating in silence, what made Emma's heart grow in her chest. It was obvious that these two were meant to work together, and she was so happy for her son. The quiet that filled the stables was almost surreal for a few minutes before Henry finally said, still looking straight into the horse's eyes.

"I'm going to call him Spark."

"That suits him." Snow said and Emma tried to blink her tears away, so moved to see her baby boy getting to live this very important moment. "Emma, Killian, do you want to come take a look as well?"

Emma bit her lips and nodded, feeling pretty excited about all of this now that she'd realized that it wasn't a dream. She really had thought about this moment since she was a little girl, trying to comfort herself before falling asleep in the dark streets of her village. She'd simply never believed that she would actually get to have this one day, and now this was really happening and she couldn't quite wrap her head around it.

She couldn't help but smile and let go of Killian's hand, walking a bit away from him to go explore the stables as he was doing the same. She however went still to watch him stop in front of a black, beautiful stallion that immediately pressed his head against his palm. Killian didn't say one thing, and yet she knew that his choice was already made as he was staying in front of the majestic animal.

She was the only one that still needed to choose, now.

She watched her boyfriend with emotion, smiling slightly at the scene she was witnessing. He really looked happy now, even if this wasn't the life they'd imagined for themselves. As he was finally accepted by everyone in the castle, she could see that he was slowly starting to feel like maybe she was right, like perhaps he really was a wonderful man despite the mistakes of his past. He felt so guilty for it and he'd changed so much to be a better man, he could truly be proud of himself. She just wanted him to know how amazing he was, because she simply wished for him to never lose his smile. He deserved happiness after everything he'd been through to get there.

David gently snapped her out of her thoughts, placing his hand on her shoulder and saying with an ecstatic grin. "Do you want to go see the other horses?"

Emma nodded, aware that she was living a very important moment. She was glad that David wanted to accompany her in her choice. He was probably the one that was going to teach her how to ride her new horse, and she was thrilled that they could take that decision together. Picking a stall at random, she approached it and her heart immediately skipped a beat as she already knew that she wasn't going to look any further into the stables. She'd found her match.

A beautiful white mare stared at her as she was approaching, her eyes kind, smart and curious. She walked closer to the gates of her stall, and Emma reached out to caress her. She was shaking slightly, realizing that she'd waited for this moment for so long while still convinced that it would never happen. She'd always pictured herself with a white horse growing up, so she already knew that this particular mare was meant to be hers. The animal seemed to agree with this decision, because she pushed her head forward for Emma to have better access and continue her strokes.

"Do you like her?" David asked in her back, and she needed a second before answering, finding herself speechless.

"I love her. Thank you for this, David. I've always dreamed about having a horse, and now…"

"Now you finally get what you truly deserve." He replied with a proud smile.

She almost turned to take him in her arms, but held herself back at the last second. She wasn't ready for that yet. She had only hugged him once willingly, just before the ball, but she couldn't bring herself to do it now. She still had to work a lot to bring all those walls down, and she knew that she needed time before being completely open with any of her parents. Luckily, he didn't seem upset at all and simply winked at her, stepping back to leave her alone with her new mount.

Going back to the mare, she didn't take long to pick a name for her.  _Wave_. It was reminding her of the sea and of Killian, and this was suiting her perfectly. She spent a few more minutes with the animal, feeling so incredibly lucky, before Killian finally came from behind her to meet the horse himself. After giving the mare a few strokes, he said gently, smiling at her.

"So, I can see that you've made your choice."

"Have you?" She asked, and he nodded. "It's the black stallion, right?"

"Aye, he's perfect." Killian said, his smile widening a bit. "How did you call her?"

"Wave." She answered, and was surprised when he gasped in disbelief, so she added, intrigued "What?"

"I called mine Ocean."

She smiled at how similar the names were, and he wrapped his arms around her waist to sweetly kiss her temple.

Black and White. Ocean and Wave. Completing each other perfectly, just like they both were.

* * *

Her first lesson took place the day after that in spite of the cold, the frost that was still covering their surroundings and the snowflakes that were getting stuck in her blond hair. Killian and David had both promised to teach her how to ride her new horse, and they looked pretty thrilled to be working together towards the same goal. Emma couldn't help but find their progression amazing. They had accepted each other and were even behaving like friends sometimes, and she was so happy about it.

Henry was there to watch her lesson too, as his was going to begin right after. Wave was patient and calm, blissfully forgiving with the mistakes she was making since she really didn't know how to do this. After getting her ready, Emma brought her to the paddock outside of the stables, and suddenly found herself in utter confusion about what to do next. She'd never done something like this before, and she wasn't sure how she was supposed to react, now.

Killian and David both chuckled at the face she was making, and she turned to them, falsely mad because she was well aware that they weren't mocking her at all. "Hey, if you're here to laugh at me, you can go back inside and I'll learn by myself."

"You know that we're not making fun of you, sweetheart." David said with a smile, knowing that she was just messing with them.

"We promised you a lesson, love. We're not going to back out now." Killian added gently, coming to stand beside her and his hand lingering on the small of her back.

She grinned and couldn't help but notice how awestruck he looked as he was staring at her for a second. She'd traded her usual long dresses for a blue tunic and leather pants, the outfit much more practical for what she was about to do, and he seemed to find her absolutely stunning, unable to look away from her. She nudged his shoulder to bring him back to reality, and he finally smiled back, showing her how to correctly get on her saddle. She listened to his instructions and managed pretty well, the young mare not moving one bit, as if she knew that she needed to be patient with her new rider.

Killian looked at her proudly, as he knew that she was living a dream. Straightening on her saddle, she thought that the world suddenly seemed new around her as she'd pictured this moment so many times during her childhood. She took a deep breath as David had come to stand beside Killian to advise her on what to do next, and in barely a few minutes, she was already able to lead her horse through the paddock, as if she'd learned to do so years ago.

She however knew that this success had very little to do with her, and was all about Wave's incredible kindness. The mare was answering her requests in a matter of seconds, never snorting at any of her mistakes. Emma knew that she couldn't have chosen a better horse, and gently patted her neck to encourage her.

"It looks like you're a natural, Emma." David said, obviously impressed by her performance.

She simply shrugged and Killian added. "He's right, love. You won't be needing us anymore in no time."

She blushed slightly at all these compliments and happily went on with her class as she was feeling more and more comfortable. She knew that she was going to be good at this some day, and she was very impatient to learn more about this sport. This was definitely something she would insist on doing every day as long as she was at the castle.

At the end of her lesson, Killian watched her gracefully going down her saddle with a proud smile still dancing on his lips. She brought her horse back to the stables, pampering her for a few minutes to thank her for this wonderful lesson. She'd always pictured her first time on a horse to be that perfect, and her smile never wavered. She couldn't believe that she actually had her own horse now, because she was a princess. And instead of scaring her, this thought made her grin even more. She got to live all those old dreams beside the people she loved the most, and she was truly thankful for it. She didn't need to be afraid anymore.

When she came back outside after a little while, Henry had already started with his own class. Perched on his saddle, he was intently listening to David, looking incredibly focused. That made her smile once again as she was joining Killian in the paddock, her boyfriend proudly looking at their son. He immediately wrapped his arm around her waist to bring her close when she approached him, and he said in a low voice.

"Let's see if the lad has inherited your talent for this."

"Don't overstate it. I'm not that good." She chuckled.

"Oh, but you are. You should have seen me during my first lesson. Liam taught me how to ride, and I wasn't any good at it. I fell so many times I couldn't sit down for days after that."

"Oh, gods." She laughed out loud. "I would have loved to see that."

"You're way better than I ever was back then." He smiled too, amused. "You truly never stop to amaze me, darling."

She shared a glance with him, leaning to press a little kiss on his lips to thank him for his kind words, before they both turned back to their little boy to watch his lesson carefully.

Henry turned out to be very good at this, too. If Spark was way more nervous than Wave was, the boy and the horse were obviously getting along very well and their son looked like he'd been born to do that kind of things. She held a bit back as Killian was approaching David to assist Henry in his lesson as well, and she grinned widely, looking at her baby boy being so confident and talented in what he was doing. She folded her arms, leaning against the fences to look at her family more easily.

And it finally hit her, making her gasp in surprise at how unexpected these sudden feelings were. But she quickly relaxed and smiled, content with what she'd just discovered. Because she'd realized that, despite all these changes in her life, she was happier than she'd ever been.

* * *

"Are you sure that we didn't forget anything? Maybe we should check again, just to be certain..."

"Snow, we're barely going out for a few hours." Emma said with an amused smile. "You know the woods like the back of your hand. What could possibly go wrong?"

"It's an important moment!' The Queen defended herself. "Our first horse ride as a family. I want everything to be perfect."

Emma's grin widened as she was climbing on her saddle, Wave not moving one bit as she was settling in. Killian led Ocean to come stand by her side, smiling at her as Henry was trying to get on his mount without the help of David for the very first time. He managed on his own and the happiness that was etched on his features melted all the adults' hearts at how proud he looked.

Emma had to admit that Killian hadn't been completely wrong after all, when he'd told her that she was a natural. Two weeks after her first lesson, she was already confident enough to try a ride outside of the castle. She still needed Killian and David's advice, of course, but horseback riding was everything she'd ever imagined it would be, and she was truly so happy to be able to live these experiences.

Henry was thrilled about this little family hike, and she had to say that she was pretty excited too. She couldn't wait to get out and explore the forest with her own horse, like she'd dreamed she would as a kid. None of them seemed happier than Snow, though, as the Queen was almost bouncing up and down in eagerness. It was their first real moment as a family outside of the castle, and she seemed like she couldn't be any more ecstatic to have everyone by her side at last.

Emma stroked Wave's neck, shivering slightly at the freezing cold. It had snowed non-stop for the entire night, and even her thick cloak didn't seem enough to keep the wind at bay. She was dressed in dark leather pants and a black tunic, her long blond locks tied in a braid to be comfortable during the ride. Henry had told her that she looked like a warrior, what had made her smile widely. Her dresses were now more often than not being traded for these kind of clothes, way more practical for her daily lessons in the paddock.

After a few more minutes, they were finally ready to leave. They walked away from the palace, going through the city and greeting the citizens that were recognizing them. She stayed beside Killian as he was giving her some advice and telling her every few seconds how amazing she was at this. She playfully rolled her eyes as they were finally arriving to their destination, the trees bare and the winter sun shining bright in the sky. The sounds seemed somehow muffled there, and everything felt so peaceful. She relaxed a bit more, enjoying this perfect moment, and turned to her boyfriend to say in a teasing tone.

"Stop flattering me, or I'll end up actually believing you."

"Ah, but it's my goal, love." He answered, playing along. "And I'm simply being honest. You're wonderful."

"Your opinion is clearly biased."

"And why's that?" He smiled, amused by her reply.

"Because you love me." She said with a grin, making him laugh out loud.

"You're absolutely right about that. But you're wrong when you say that my comments are skewed. You really are a good rider, lass."

"He's telling the truth." David added behind them, backing Killian. "It's like you were born for this. Just like Henry."

"Are you having fun, kiddo?" She asked to her son then, taking advantage of David's words to change the subject as she was feeling herself blushing at all these compliments.

The little boy nodded enthusiastically and turned to his mom to share a smile with her. It's during this brief instant that everything crumbled.

The silence of the woods was suddenly broken by a tiny sparrow that erupted from a bush to fly just under Spark's nose before disappearing into the branches of a tree. The event lasted for a split second and shouldn't have had any consequences if the horse hadn't still been so young, but he unexpectedly started to panic.

He snorted, afraid, then violently swerved. Henry let go of a cry of surprise, trying to calm his horse down, but he didn't have enough experience yet to control the young palomino and manage to reassure him. Spark gradually got more and more anxious, nervously stamping the ground, and as everyone was too surprised to do anything to stop him, he abruptly began to gallop, running at a breakneck speed with Henry still on his back.

Emma didn't even think about what she did next. The fear made her heart beat insanely fast in her chest, and her mind seemed like frozen. She forgot everything around her, her family by her side, the slippery ground, the fact that she was only just a beginner in this sport. Her son was still with this horse that was running dangerously fast, and she needed to get to him. He couldn't get hurt.

And so in a matter of seconds, she brought Wave to follow her son, leading her to her fastest pace and ignoring Snow calling her name as she was leaving them too. She vaguely heard the noises of hoofs kicking the ground, telling her that her family was probably imitating her, but she didn't turn to verify it. The only thing that existed anymore was Henry and she had to make sure that he was staying safe.

Wave was a true blessing and she didn't snort as Emma was encouraging her to go even faster. But despite how quick the mare was, Spark was so panicked that he seemed to barely be touching the ground anymore, and she was afraid that she would never catch up with him. She could see that Henry was crouching on his saddle, trying to avoid the lowest branches of the trees. She herself didn't pay any attention to the way these same branches were scratching her face, tracing burning wounds on her cheeks. She just needed to get to her son and stop this damn horse, if it was the last thing she did.

The race seemed to last for hours. Wave was slowly getting closer to Spark and Emma was starting to think that maybe she would manage to get her little boy to safety, when her eyes fell on the small cliff that was stretching just beside the path. It wasn't that deep, but if the horse fell in it with Henry still on his back, this could get extremely dangerous. An awful image of what could happen made its way through Emma's mind, and she thought that her heart was stopping in terror.

"Henry!" She screamed. "Hang in there!"

As if answering her panic, the weather changed suddenly. The sky got darker and the thunder roared just above their heads. Everything was happening exactly like when the man she'd killed had tried to harm Killian and a storm coming from nowhere had distracted him, but she couldn't fully realize how strange this was on the moment. A bright flash suddenly tore the sky apart, and the thunderbolt struck the ground just before Spark's hoofs. The young horse, surprised, finally stopped his race at once.

Henry miraculously managed to stay on his saddle as his mount was kicking, grabbing the reins with all the strength he had and letting go of a whimper of fear. This allowed Emma to finally catch up with her son, and not thinking about what she was doing, she reached out to grab the reins too and control the panicking horse. But if Wave had slowed down, she was still galloping and the speed unbalanced her rider. Without managing to do anything to prevent it, she fell off her saddle, still holding the palomino's reins firmly in her hand as he'd finally settled down a bit.

The snow amortized her fall, but her wrist painfully twisted as she was hitting the ground. She heard several voices calling her name and vaguely saw Killian's figure jumping down from his horse, but everything seemed a bit blurry around her. She completely ignored the pain in her hand and her dizziness, and she stood back up to look at her son. He seemed absolutely panicked and she thought that her heart was breaking at the expression on his face. She lifted him off the back of his mount to place him back safely on his feet, and she squatted before him to cup his cheek and see if he was okay.

"Are you alright?"

He nodded slowly, his eyes widened in fear, and she wrapped her arms around him for a comforting hug, feeling like she could finally breathe again now that she was sure that his was safe. "That's okay, kid. I'm right here, you're alright." She said, her hand running through his hair to try and calm him down as he'd buried his face in the crook of her neck.

Killian arrived beside them a few seconds later, looking at the both of them to make sure that they were okay with pure panic shining in his gaze. Henry pulled away from her to hug his father as well, finally shaking a little bit less violently as both his parents were there to comfort him. Killian held him close, closing his eyes in relief as he could see that he wasn't hurt, then he reached for Emma's hand to help her get back on her feet again.

She couldn't help but let go of a small cry of pain when his fingers lightly touched her hurt wrist. She hadn't paid any attention to it until then, but now that the adrenaline was slowly fading away, she could feel how badly twisted her hand had actually been. Killian frowned as she was getting back up and, still hugging Henry with his left arm, he ran his fingers over one of the scratches on her face, his skin quickly getting covered with her blood.

"You're hurt." He noted, looking horribly worried about this observation.

Trying to comfort him as she could see that he was starting to panic, she cupped his cheek to say gently. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not." Killian protested, as seeing her in pain was very obviously unbearable for him.

"Emma!" David called her then, as he was finally getting to them with his wife by his side. "Henry! Are you both okay? We're going to go back to the castle immediately. You need to see a healer."

"Emma..." Snow said in a low voice, sounding a bit stunned and her face so pale she looked like she was about to faint. "This storm, it came out of nowhere. What happened?"

"We'll see about that later" Killian decided, deeply concerned about the situation and seeing that she had no answer to this question. "Emma is hurt, she needs to be cared for first."

"You're right." Snow nodded seriously, but she kept on strangely looking at her daughter, what made Emma slightly uncomfortable.

Feeling how scared Killian still was, she turned back to him and understood how terrified he'd been to lose his family in this stupid accident. He looked liked he was trying not to start crying, unshed tears shining in his gaze. She approached her face from his, looking straight into his eyes and wrapping one arm around Henry to hold him close as well.

"Killian..." She started in a soft voice. "Babe, look at me, I'm okay. We both are. Nothing is going to happen to any of us, I promise."

He seemed to finally relax a little bit at her words, and he buried his face in her hair to breathe her in. She gently stroked his back, deeply pained by his distress, and he finally murmured to her ear after a second of silence.

"I'm sorry. I just got scared of losing you both."

"Don't apologize." She answered in a whisper. "We're here. We're alright. We're not leaving you."

He just held them both a bit closer to him as if he were afraid that they were going to disappear.

* * *

"You really had to be a hero, huh?" Killian stated, gently stroking Emma's back as he was talking. There was no hint of accusation in his tone, only a little bit of teasing, as if he were trying to chase his worry away.

"Ah well, it was for our son so I didn't think that you would mind." She smiled, playing along.

"You know that I don't. You were so strong and brave. But you have to admit that there was probably another way to get the lad to safety than jumping off your saddle."

"It needed to be dramatic." She chuckled, and added when he gave her a falsely annoyed look, even though he still had a small smile on his face. "I just didn't think about what I was doing. I needed to get to Henry, and I did the first thing that came to my mind. I'm sorry for worrying you."

"Don't be sorry, love, I was merely joking. I know you did it for our son, and I think you were amazing. I was just afraid. And I'm so happy that you're safe, now." He pressed a gentle kiss to her temple, and she closed her eyes to enjoy the touch of his lips, smiling slightly.

He hadn't left her once since she'd got back on her feet after her fall, as if he wanted to make sure that she was staying safe. He hadn't wanted her to go back on her horse for the journey back to the castle, scared that she would hurt her wrist even more. She hadn't protested, knowing that he needed to feel her close to reassure himself, and too exhausted all of the sudden to sit straight on her saddle. So they'd both mounted Ocean, Emma leaning against Killian's chest as he was leading the horse, his face in her neck as he was trying to convince himself that she was there and that nothing was going to happen to her.

Henry hadn't got hurt, thank the gods, but he'd definitely been very scared. He hadn't wanted to go back to Spark right away, preferring to ride with David to calm down a bit. However, he'd ended up asking the King to stop in order to approach his horse again, and had stated as everyone was looking at him with surprise that it was better to face his fear right away. It had made both his parents smile proudly at how amazing he was, even if they both were a bit worried to see him mount so soon after his fall.

Killian snapped her out of her thoughts by gently taking her hurt hand between his to peer at it. The healer had just left their room after bandaging her wrist, stating that it was sprained. She'd insisted for Henry to be seen first even though he wasn't hurt, just to make sure that he really was okay, and when the healer had attended to her, he'd advised her to take some rest for a while. She needed to stop using her hand for a couple of days, and he'd told her that the wounds and scratches on her cheeks would heal soon enough. Other than that, she'd avoided the worst and she was simply happy to be back in the castle now and to let everything finally settle down.

They were now both still lying down on their bed side by side, his left arm wrapped around her shoulders to keep her close. He gently ran his thumb around the deepest wound on her face and said with a worried frown.

"Does it hurt?"

"Not so much." She reassured him. "Maybe it'll left a scar, though. I'm trying to be like you, see?" She joked, running her finger along the thin red line that was spreading across his cheek.

"That's not funny." He said with a little smile.

"I can help with that if you want to." A vaguely familiar voice suddenly rang at the door of their room.

Too lost in their own little world, they hadn't heard anyone coming in and they turned to look at their visitors, a bit taken aback. Snow, David and Henry were standing there, and Emma recognized the Blue Fairy next to them, as she was waiting to see their reactions to her offer. She noticed with relief that her son had regained his smile for good, and he immediately came to join his parents, sitting down on the edge of their bed.

David and Snow seemed deeply concerned as they walked into the room, and she briefly wondered if it was because of her fall or because of the storm that had abruptly struck as they were in the forest. It'd been a bit strange, sure, but the Queen seemed genuinely worried about it and Emma could tell that Blue's presence in the room had something to do with that, somehow.

All of this interest about what had happened in the woods was annoying her a little bit, if she was being honest. It was not like she had something to do with this thunderstorm, right? It had just all been an accident, and it had allowed Spark to finally stop his race, so she certainly wasn't going to complain about it.

Smiling slightly, Blue approached her bed as well. Emma was acquainted with her now, but she was a bit wary of what she was about to tell her, because she could already tell that she wasn't going to like it. The fairy gave her a reassuring look that relaxed her a bit though, and she leaned to peer at her wound, before lightly touching her cheek with the tip of her wand. A cold wind filled the room for a second, and the pain suddenly faded away. Surprised, Emma touched her face and realized that the scratches had now disappeared, as if it'd never existed in the first place.

"Thanks." She said with a grateful smile, relieved to be freed from this pain.

"Can you do something about her hand?" Killian asked.

"Unfortunately, no. My magic doesn't work with this kind of injury."

Seeing Killian's disappointed expression, Emma reassured him with a smile. "It's okay, babe. I'll survive with a bandage for a few days, I promise."

A strange silence settled in then, the atmosphere odd and thick. Killian was still staring at her, not even realizing that something weird was going on as he was completely focused on her, but Snow and David looked pretty nervous for a reason she couldn't understand. Emma watched them for a minute or so before finally asking, guessing that something was definitely off with them.

"You didn't only come here to heal my scratches, did you?"

"I didn't." Blue admitted in a low voice. "I've been told about the storm, and I would like you to tell me a bit more about it. It happened very suddenly from what I heard, and I'd like to understand..."

"Look." Emma cut her off, annoyed and wondering why the hell they were all so obsessed with this stupid event. "There's nothing to say, because nothing happened. The thunder struck, and it allowed me to get to Henry. We just got lucky."

Blue didn't seem to mind the tone that Emma had used and continued calmly. "I'm sure that you really believe that, but I also need answers, because what occurred wasn't normal. A storm doesn't arrive out of nowhere. So I would like to know : Do strange things happen around you sometimes, like it did today?"

Emma was about to vehemently answer that no, she'd never witnessed anything that weird before. She was tired and had had enough of these damn questions, she just wanted to stay in Killian's arms until the next morning and sleep to forget about all of this. But Snow and David seemed so horribly worried, she forced herself to think about what Blue had asked her. Nothing came to her mind though as she was still a bit stunned by everything that had happened that day, and she shook her head after a few seconds of quiet.

"No, it was the first time."

"Wait a minute, love." Killian said, and she turned to him, surprised to hear him take part in this conversation. "It did happen once before. Do you remember the storm that suddenly appeared when… just after we stole the bracelet last year?" He hesitated, well aware that talking about the murder was still painful for her, and she was grateful that he wasn't bringing it up now. "That was a bit odd, wasn't it?"

"It was, but it was probably just a coincidence." She shrugged.

Blue seemed however very interested in Killian's words, and she asked hastily "Are you sure that this only happened twice?"

More and more anxious for a reason that she couldn't quite understand, Emma was forced to realize that strange things had indeed always happened around her. She was so used to it that she wasn't really paying any attention to it anymore, but now that she was thinking about it, she couldn't even tell how many times things she just couldn't explain had occurred in her life.

It had begun when she was just a child, scared of Eric and his abuse, and the lights would falter around her when he was yelling at her. The candles had flickered as well when she'd got fired from the tavern, and it wasn't rare for similar things to happen when she was with Killian and he would bring her to the height of her pleasure. And then there were these strange storms that had given her the time to save those she loved the most twice. Why the hell was that supposed to mean?

She frowned, chewing on her bottom lip and her stomach in knots. Not sure that she wanted to hear the answer, she still asked in a small voice. "Why are you asking me all of this?"

"Listen, honey." Snow started, coming to sit beside Henry on the bed and talking very softly as if she knew that this was going to be hard to hear. "The prophecy said that you were going to be the Savior..."

"That doesn't mean anything. It was just a guess." Emma interrupted her, as if she didn't want to believe in the possibility of all of this not being an accident after all.

"You broke the Dark Curse, so it wasn't." David added kindly. "You really saved us all."

"Killian and I did it together." Emma corrected, taking her boyfriend's hand to give herself the strength she needed to face this. "It was a true love kiss, not me."

"Not everyone could have broken the curse. The true love kiss helped, but it had to be combined with very strong magic to make the Dome disappear." Blue explained patiently.

"Where are you going with this?" Emma asked, even if she already knew. She just didn't want it to be real.

"You're the Savior because you're the product of true love, Emma." The fairy stated. "This being the strongest magic of all, it also means that you have powers."

"I don't have any powers!" She protested immediately.

"The storm that struck when you needed it and all those strange things going on around you are telling the opposite."

"You have magic, Emma." Snow added gently, backing the fairy's words.

Henry seemed completely awestruck, looking at his mom with a huge, happy grin. But she wasn't smiling at all. She was utterly terrified, and Killian pulled her a bit closer, as if guessing her feelings. Because she didn't want any of this. And yet, she couldn't deny the logic in what she was hearing. Things were happening around her when she was angry or scared, and this couldn't all be an accident. And suddenly, she wanted to cry, because she'd barely got used to this new life that a new thing was being thrown at her again, and she didn't know how to deal with this. She didn't want to be afraid of herself.

Trying to fight back the tears, she said in a muffled voice. "What… What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Hey… hey, darling, you're not supposed to do anything if you don't want to." Killian said, wrapping both his arms around her and she buried her face in the crook of his neck, because he was the only thing that felt safe right now. "I promise you that no one will never force you to do something you do not wish to do. Not on my watch."

Everyone in the room understood what he meant by these words.  _Do not make her miserable because of some prophecy, I won't let this happen_. No one said anything for a while, and she allowed one tear to roll down her cheek in silence, because everything suddenly felt too much.

Blue finally started to talk again after a few minutes and Emma looked up to see that she had a small, reassuring smile on her face. "He's right. It's your choice to explore these powers or not. You have no obligations whatsoever."

"Exactly." David nodded, looking a bit worried by his daughter's reaction. "We won't force you to do anything, Emma. It's your life and you get to choose how you want to live it. We're just here if you want to know more about this, because we simply don't want you to be scared of yourself."

"Now." Snow added, noticing that Emma desperately wanted to be done with this conversation. "I think that you need some rest. We'll leave you alone, try to get some sleep, all right?"

And after one last glance in her direction to make sure that she was okay, Blue and the royal couple left the room, leaving her, Killian and Henry alone. As they were finally gone, she stopped holding back her tears, all the exhaustion of this insane day taking over her at once, and she cried for a long time in Killian's arms. So many thoughts she didn't know what to do with were crashing inside her mind, and she let her boyfriend comfort her as Henry was coming to snuggle against her, showing his support.

With her two boys by her side, she ended up calming down as Killian was whispering to her ear. "This doesn't change anything about who you are, my Swan. Everything is going to be okay. We love you."

Finally rocked by his gentle words, she fell asleep in his arms, getting the rest she needed after all the emotions she'd had to go through that day.

* * *

Emma slept without waking until the next morning. There was a second of blessed peacefulness when she opened her eyes, still snuggled in Killian's arms, but what had happened the day before quickly made its way to her again and her heart tightened. She was filled with the sudden and strange desire to keep silent about all of this, as if not talking about it would make these revelations disappear.

She immediately noticed that Henry wasn't in their bed anymore, and guessed that Killian had probably carried him to his room during the night. Her boyfriend was looking at her now, lying down on his side and his hand stroking her back. The bags under his eyes told the tale of a night without sleep, and she could tell that he'd stayed awake to watch over her. He would always do that when she was feeling sad or sick, and she sighed slightly at how much she loved this man.

He seemed to understand her quiet thoughts, because he didn't ask her one question about what had happened the day before. He just held her even closer to him as she was slowly waking up, her face buried in his neck as he was caressing her hair. In that position, she felt like maybe things could go back to normal after all. He always made her feel like she could overcome anything, even when she was doubting herself.

Except that, once more, nothing went as planned. She had no idea of what was about to happen to them though, and it's completely comforted that she got out of bed with Killian, getting ready for the day as if everything was perfectly fine. But when she arrived in the dining room to share breakfast with her family, holding Killian's hand in hers, she was greeted by a true chaos that left her completely speechless.

Everything seemed normal at first when she entered the room with her two boys by her side. If David and Snow still seemed a bit worried about her, they didn't ask her anything, probably knowing that if she wanted to talk about it, she would let them know. She was approaching the table, trying to pretend that everything really was as usual, when it all went south.

A thick black smoke filled the room out of the blue, making her blink in surprise as she was coughing uncontrollably at the unpleasant smell that came with it. A bit confused, she certainly didn't expect to find what she saw when she opened her eyelids again, and she couldn't help but startle at the sight in front of her.

Someone was now standing there, coming from nowhere as she couldn't understand how he'd got there. His appearance was absolutely terrifying. He had scales instead of skin, yellow teeth and long, greasy hair, but it wasn't what scared her the most. The spark that she could read in his dark eyes was utterly horrifying, a mix of cruelty and pure malice that told her that this creature wasn't anything close to benevolent.

Almost unconsciously, she stepped back to place herself between him and Henry, scared that he would hurt her son. In a low voice, she said "What the hell?"

"Hello, dearie." he answered in a high-pitched voice that made a shiver run up her spine.

David got up, imitated by Snow, ready to call their guards for backup. They obviously knew who this man was, and they didn't seem to like him very much to say the least. But Emma's attention was drawn away from the scene when Killian finally started to move again. He'd stayed completely motionless since she'd let go of his hand, and she'd thought that he was just surprised at first, but when she looked at him, she saw that he'd gone terribly pale. His voice was so full of rage she barely recognized it when he stepped forward and growled.

"Bloody crocodile."

She immediately understood what was happening, and her heart skipped a beat at her boyfriend's expression. His jaw clenched, he seemed about to jump at his enemy's throat, and she could get his reaction easily. Because this man was the one that had killed his first love, the one that had stolen his hand and that he had tried to find for decades to get his revenge. And he seemed so angry and pained to see this creature from his past, Emma felt it in her own bones.

Killian placed his hand on the dagger that was never leaving his belt and continued in a low voice. "If you get any closer to my family..."

"What, then? Do you wish to lose the other hand?" the Dark One mocked, and she felt like Killian had to use all his strengths in order not to kill their unexpected visitor in the middle of the dining room.

Emma thought to herself that Rumpelstiltskin would have deserved it, after everything that he'd done, and not only to Killian but to so many other people that he'd mercilessly hurt. She knew how much her boyfriend hated this man that had taken everything from him, and yet she was also aware that she had to find a way to comfort Killian, because he couldn't kill his enemy right now.

Taking his life wouldn't be a solution, no matter how much she hated this creature for making the man she loved suffer for so long. She would however have let Killian take this decision himself, if it'd been in other circumstances. But they were in the castle, and most importantly, their son was there as well. He couldn't see his father kill someone in front of him, not after seeing his mother do the same things all those months ago.

So in order to protect her family, Emma took the decision to move, making sure that she was still protecting Henry in the process, and she came to place a soothing hand on Killian's arm. She immediately felt him relaxing a little bit under her touch, and she got even closer to whisper to his ear so no one else could hear them, trying to calm him down.

"Babe, I understand, I really do. He deserves to pay for what he did to you. But Henry is here, so please don't do this. We love you. We'll deal with this another way."

Killian suddenly let go of his dagger and wrapped his arm around her waist to hold her close to his chest. She didn't know if he was trying to comfort himself or to protect her from the Dark One, scared that he was going to hurt her like he'd hurt Milah. Maybe both, and she did her best to give him all her support as he was facing this, because she couldn't even imagine how hard this was for him.

Rumpelstiltskin had a cruel smile and stated, as if she'd just talked out loud. "You should listen to the lady,  _Hook_ "

"Don't you dare talk to her." Killian threatened, holding Emma a bit tighter. "What the bloody hell are you doing here?"

"Your wrist has to hurt." the Dark One continued without paying any attention to Killian, what seemed to make him even angrier. Emma placed her hand over his heart, trying to comfort him. "I can heal that for you, if you want."

"I wouldn't let you approach me even if I was on my deathbed." She spat out.

"You have a big mouth on you, dearie. You should watch it, it could get you in trouble."

"What are you doing here?" David said coldly then. "The only reason why you managed to escape our dungeon is because you helped Regina with her curse. Coming here is foolish. We could get you back in your cell in the second."

"I highly doubt it." He sneered, obviously finding the situation incredibly funny. "And you could be a bit more welcoming. I'm here to offer my help, after all."

"And why would we accept anything coming from you?" Snow asked dryly. "We know that everything has a price with you."

"Well, it happens I've heard that the little princess over there has magical powers." He said, looking at Emma and making her feel very uncomfortable all of the sudden. "I could teach her about them."

Emma's teeth creaked in her mouth as she was feeling nothing but contempt for this man. She didn't know how he was aware that she had magic, but she truly hoped that it wasn't because the news had already traveled all around the kingdom. She just wanted to keep these revelations discreet, because she didn't know what to do about them yet, and she swallowed hardly, her heart pounding at an insane speed in her chest.

Killian frowned, looking even more furious than before. "Don't you come any closer to her."

"Ah, protective, aren't we? You didn't manage to protect the first one, so I don't know why you think you'll succeed this time..."

"Shut up!" Emma yelled then, not bearing the fact that he was trying to hurt Killian. "I have no desire to learn about these powers, and certainly not with you!"'

"And yet..." He began, but she cut him off again.

"I told you to shut the hell up! You're going to leave this castle, now. I don't want your help and I don't want you here. You made the man I love suffer, and I despise you for that. If you don't disappear right now, I promise you that I'll use these powers you seem to be so interested in to get you the hell out of here!"

As if answering her anger, the candles of the room started to falter, showing the Dark One that she wasn't kidding. She however wasn't stupid, she knew that he would have been able to kill her in a second if he'd wanted to, and that she couldn't have done anything about it about it because she didn't even know how to use this magic, but feeling Killian in pain was too much. She had to do something about it.

Against all odds, the creature didn't insist. He smiled, as if he'd got exactly what he wanted by manipulating her even if she didn't know how yet, and he simply shrugged without adding a word. With a flick of his hand, he was gone before anyone could even fully realize it.

Emma felt like she could finally breathe again. They all let go of a sigh of pure relief, and she immediately turned to Killian to see how he was doing. She cupped his cheek, making him look at her. His heart was beating so fast underneath her hand and his blue eyes were darkened with rage, but his arms locked around her and he seemed to lose himself in her gaze to try and come back to reality.

"Are you okay?" She asked, her face inches form his.

"I'm just glad that you're here." He whispered. "I would have gone crazy without you."

"Always." She promised, moving to hug him and running her fingers through his hair. "I love you."

She knew that a tough conversation was surely going to follow this episode. They would have to tell Snow and David about what had happened in Killian's past, since they had no idea of why they'd got so mad, and it was going to be painful for him to go back to these hard times. They also needed to talk about her decision to ignore her powers, since denying that she had magic had become useless now that she'd made the lights flicker again. She didn't want to speak about that either, but she was also aware that she didn't really have a choice. What was coming was going to be straining for sure.

But for now, all that mattered was reassuring the man she loved. She had to show him that she would always be there for him, no matter what. So she didn't pay attention to the questioning looks her parents gave her, and she focused entirely on Killian, dropping a kiss to his neck and silently promising him that everything was going to be okay.

* * *

And this discussion did happen. A long, difficult conversation when Killian had finally calmed down enough to be able to talk about what had happened. Henry knew what Rumpelstiltskin had done to his father, and he hugged Killian as they were all going to sit down at the table, as if to show him that he was supporting him too.

Even if Emma could see how hard this was for him, Killian calmly told the story of his past with the creature. He spoke about how he'd killed Milah, how he'd taken his hand and about his years spent at trying to get his revenge, because he was shattered. Snow and David looked genuinely shocked, offering their support too, what made Emma truly happy. They'd all come so far since the first time they'd stepped into the castle, and they were behaving like a real family, now.

The royal couple talked about their story with the Dark One too, even if they knew a bit about it already thanks to Henry's books. They told them what he'd done, and about how they'd finally managed to imprison him in a cell of their dungeon. He was the one who had foreseen her being the Savior, and he'd escaped when Regina had cast the Dark Curse, as the Evil Queen had made sure that he wouldn't get touched by it.

Snow and David were deeply worried about all of this. They knew that Rumpelstiltskin hadn't come all the way to the palace to actually offer his help, but that he had something in mind, probably something bad. He had been interested in what she could do since before her birth, and this wasn't a good sign at all. These news sent a shiver up Emma's back, as she was wondering what the hell was about to happen to her again after these last weeks spent in such peacefulness.

And then, the subject of her new-found powers was finally approached. She didn't want to talk about it, but she also knew that after what the Dark One had said, she had to take a real decision instead of ignoring the situation. She still knew that she had no desire to learn how to control this magic that was scaring her a little, and she made that clear right away. She wanted to keep this part of herself buried inside and never think about it again.

Luckily, her parents understood her opinion, and they didn't try to convince her otherwise. However, they told her that she really needed to learn how to defend herself, other than with her fists. Snow and David both knew how to fight, and with Rumpelstiltskin lurking in the corner, she had to know how to use a dagger or a sword in addition to her unarmed combat skills. She knew how to break noses and knock people out, now she also needed to know how to harm them more seriously.

The prospect of having a sword back in her hands after what had happened the last time she'd found herself in that position, wasn't reassuring her at all. She'd killed someone, and if she'd come a long way to try and forgive herself, she was still scared of what she could do and of being a danger. Killian seemed to understand that, because he leaned to speak to her in a gentle voice as she was staying silent, not knowing what to answer.

"If you learn how to use a sword, this will allow you to defend yourself without necessarily killing anyone, lass. You can harm them to escape, but leave them alive. You'll never be forced to kill to be safe again, believe me."

These words comforted her somehow, and her lessons started soon after.

They waited a couple of weeks for her wrist to be completely healed before beginning with these classes, taught by Killian most of the time. She trusted him more than anyone, and he always managed to keep her dark thoughts at bay. The first time she took the sword in her hand, not sharpened in order not to risk hurting anyone during the lesson, flashes of what she'd done took over her again and she had to let go of the weapon, tears rolling down her cheeks. Killian came to wrap his arms around her, pained by her reaction, and he said to her ear.

"It's alright, love. You don't have to do this if you don't want to. We can find another way. But don't ever think that you're dangerous, please, my darling. What happened back then was an accident. You're the most perfect person that I know, and I just want you to be happy."

His words comforted her and she insisted on trying again, even if it was paining her. She knew that she needed these skills to be able to defend herself and, more importantly, to protect her family. And Killian was right, she had to remember that if she knew how to use a sword, she didn't have to murder anyone ever again. She wasn't a monster. Just someone who had made mistakes. And the best way to stop being scared was to face her fears.

Everything became so much easier after her first real training with Killian. She forced herself not to start crying again, fighting against her old memories and taking several breaks to try not to crumble, but she managed to learn some of the basic moves. She was reassured at last. She saw that she could work with the sword, not against it, and she knew that she wouldn't use it unless she really needed to. And she actually liked training, she liked feeling her muscles hurt and her body trying to overcome the exhaustion as she was working.

And soon enough, she was spending an hour every day in the training room with her boyfriend, always wanting to know more about this new-found skills.

David would come to her lessons sometimes, to give her an outside look on her posture or gestures, and she progressed amazingly fast. Her father even offered her a dagger, a small one with a sharpened blade that she tied to her belt and took everywhere with her. And in a few days, she was able to actually fight against Killian, without him having to hold back in order not to exhaust her.

She came to really love these moments spent with him. Their bond seemed to strengthen with these new activities, if it was possible, and she couldn't have been happier as every fear of the past had finally disappeared. She knew that she would never completely forgive herself for taking somebody's life, but she was sure that she would never do something like that again. She couldn't be afraid of her own actions anymore.

After every lesson, Killian would approach her for a high five and a peck on her lips, saying with pride. "Good job, Swan."

Between her horseback riding classes and the sword fighting ones, she would barely put on her long dresses anymore. She slowly became more and more comfortable in her new position, with these new skills that she was developing and always surrounded by the two most important people of her life.

She wasn't only a princess. She was a warrior and a survivor, she was trying to conquer her fears and be a better person every day. And gradually, she came to like the person that she'd become after all the pain of the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have theories about what the Dark One came to do at the castle, I'd love to hear them! See you soon!


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! So, this chapter is a much happier one, I hope you'll like it! I can't believe that that we're already halfway through this fic, but a lot more is coming and I can't wait to share everything with you!

"We've had an idea, last night." Snow said with a big smile, making everyone look up from their plates.

Emma leaned back in her chair, frowning slightly and a bit worried about what was coming next. The last times her parents had looked that excited, they had planned a ball for her, then had brought them horses out of the blue. These hadn't been bad thoughts at all because she had enjoyed these situations quite a bit, but she really didn't know what they had in mind, and it was concerning her a little.

She was just coming out of one of her sword fighting lessons with Killian, her long blond hair tied up in a high ponytail, and she was blissfully exhausted by the hour spent at wielding her weapon. She had been devouring her meal until then, trying to get some strengths back after the huge effort she'd just made, but she decided to leave her dinner for a minute in order to know more about what was coming her way. Absently, she wondered why David and Snow were always announcing them important things while they were eating. She would very much have liked to enjoy her food in peace, for once.

"Who do you want to introduce us to?" Emma asked then, already guessing that this was all about another meeting.

"How do you know that this is what we want to talk to you about?" David said, surprised by her question.

"Just a guess." She shrugged. "You always want us to meet people, so it wasn't that hard."

It made the royal couple laugh, and she couldn't help but smile herself. Over two months had already passed since she'd discovered that she was the Princess, and she was feeling more and more comfortable at the castle. It didn't feel exactly like home yet and she couldn't bring herself to call Snow and David other than by their names, but she was making great progress. Her walls were slowly going down and she wasn't trying to bring them up anymore, because she knew that she could trust these people, for real now. Despite Rumpelstiltskin's sudden apparition a few weeks earlier and the fact that she'd chosen to ignore the existence of her powers, everything was going so smoothly. She just hoped that it would continue like that for a long, long time.

Snow and David were so incredibly thoughtful toward her and her family, and they were making everything so easy. The bond she was sharing with them was starting to get stronger, even if she was still seeing them more like friends than like her parents. In spite of their rocky start, Killian was getting along great with the couple now, even spending time alone with David now and then. A true, surprising friendship was slowly building between the two men, and they'd come so far it was still amazing her sometimes. As for Henry, he was pampered by everyone in the castle, and seemed like the happiest little boy.

Everything was so good she could hardly believe it sometimes.

"Well, you're not totally wrong." Snow smiled. "So, here's the thing. The citizens and our friends know you now, but there is still a lot to do. We thought that getting a bit further into the Enchanted Forest could maybe be a good thing, in order to introduce you to the other kingdoms out there. Everyone has heard about you three, and they would surely love to meet you. So we've had the idea of taking a little trip together, so the entire world could see you, too."

"We know the rulers of some of these places, and they would be more than happy to host us for a night or two. We could also easily find inns ready to welcome us in some villages. That would allow the citizens to meet you, and for you to see the continent." David added. "So what do you think? Would you fancy a little hike?"

Emma took a second before answering, turning to Killian to ask for his opinion about all of this. All her anxiety had faded away as she was actually very glad to be given this chance. Leaving the castle and seeing the world with her family by her side seemed like a wonderful idea. It was going to strengthen their bonds even more, and discovering everything that the Enchanted Forest had to offer had been one of her dreams for so long.

Killian smiled at her, telling her that he was loving this plan as well. She looked at Henry to notice that he was almost bouncing on his chair, so happy to finally be able to travel because they'd been talking about that for years. She already knew what their answer was going to be, but she still asked with a cheerful smile.

"That seems like an amazing thing. How long would we be gone?"

"The Enchanted Forest isn't as big as it seems." David answered. "And aside from the Dark One that seems to be playing discreet for now, it's also completely safe. We know the fastest ways to get to our destinations and we won't be delayed. So I'd say it will take maybe six weeks, eight at the most."

Emma glanced at Killian again, more and more excited about this new possibility that was being offered to them. He was smiling so widely, she knew that he was feeling the exact same way. But as she was about to accept, another thought suddenly crossed her mind and she felt her expression hardening a bit. She had a new request to make, because she needed to do something she should have done a long time ago. And if it wasn't going to be easy, she also knew that she had to finally forgive herself for her past mistakes.

So, in a serious voice, she said. "We'd love to take this trip with you, but I do have something to ask before agreeing to anything."

Killian visibly guessed what she had in mind, and noting her worry, he grabbed her hand from underneath the table and gave it a gentle squeeze. She knew that she was taking the right decision, and his support meant a lot. This was something she needed to go through, even if it was going to be extremely hard.

"Whatever you want, Emma." Snow nodded, seeming a bit intrigued.

Looking at her mother, she took a deep breath before finally continuing, her voice a bit less assured. "I'd like to go back to our former region for a couple of days."

"Do you have people to see there?" David asked, curious to know more.

"I mostly have people I need to apologize to. I stole and killed there. It's time for me to finally try to make amends for what happened."

Snow and David exchanged looks and Killian softly caressed her hand with his thumb, because if she was being calm on the outside, he knew how difficult this decision really was. Her mother turned to her then, eyes shining with pride, and Emma was hit once again by how much these people were loving her despite everything that she'd done. At least, she had all the support she needed. And she knew that she was going to find the courage to go there and face what she'd done, because it was the honorable thing to do.

"I think that this is an excellent idea." Snow said gently. "That's very brave of you, Emma."

"I just have to do this." She shrugged. "I hurt people and I have to tell them how sorry I am, even if it doesn't erase what I did."

"We have to go see Matt, too." Henry added suddenly, his expression confident and determined as he was looking at his mom. "You have to show him that he was so wrong to fire you in the first place. I told you that he would regret it, someday."

Emma smiled slightly at his words and answered. "You're right, I have to go see Matt, but not to show off the fact that I was the Lost Princess all along. I have unfinished businesses with him, and I would like to have a calm conversation about what happened and tell him that he fired me on false accusations. He's been someone very important to me, he gave me a job when I had nothing, and I'd simply like to talk to him one last time."

"It's settled then." David agreed seriously. "We'll go wherever you wish to go."

Now that this decision had been taken and even if she knew that doing what she had to was going to be straining, she finally allowed the excitement to erase her worry. She was actually going to go explore the Enchanted Forest with her family. Another adventure that they were going to live together, building wonderful memories, and she just couldn't wait.

Turning to Henry with a delighted smile, she said. "Are you ready to see the world, kiddo?"

He nodded enthusiastically with the biggest smile on his face.

* * *

"Henry, are you absolutely sure that you didn't forget anything?"

"Mom!" The little boy said, looking slightly annoyed. "You've asked me the same question ten times already! I swear that I have everything!"

"Hey, we'll be gone for a while, kid, and we can't come back here if you realize that you've left something behind. I don't want you to be sad because you forgot your favorite novel." She defended herself with a little shrug, what made her son smile at her.

Everyone was overexcited as they were getting ready for the big departure, trying to make sure that they had everything before finally leaving. Emma's bags were already placed in the cart that would accompany them for the trip and that was pulled by two massive draught horses. They'd decided to use this so their own mounts wouldn't get too tired during the journey, and it was also a great opportunity for them to take a break from horseback riding if they ever needed to rest. Henry and herself weren't that experienced yet after all, and long rides could still become uncomfortable for them from time to time.

Four guards were coming with them as well, to protect them in case something bad happened during the journey, which was highly unlikely since everything was perfectly fine in the Enchanted Forest. Kate and Chiara were supposed to stay at the castle and be in charge of the kingdom while they were gone, in order not to leave the city unsupervised. They knew that the citizens were in good hands with their advisers during their absence, and it's completely relaxed that they were getting ready to leave the palace for their first trip as a family.

Emma watched Killian placing the last bags in the cart and checking that they had everything one final time. Knowing that they were okay to go at last, Emma mounted Wave, kindly patting her horse's neck in the process. She already knew that she was going to progress a lot at horseback riding in the weeks that were coming, since she was going to be training all the time, and she was so incredibly glad about it.

She was still a bit worried about Henry being with Spark given his fall a few weeks earlier, even if her little boy was finding her concern silly, telling her that his horse had settled down a lot since then. Still, she'd made her son promise that he would take some rest every once in a while, to avoid exhausting himself. She was still having nightmares about this race in the forest now and then, and she didn't want it to happen again. She watched Killian advising Henry on how to mount his horse correctly, then her boyfriend finally got on his own stallion and came to stand beside her, seeming so thrilled about this adventure that was awaiting for them.

Emma was so impatient she couldn't help but smile. She was ecstatic about this trip they were taking all together. She couldn't wait to spend all this time with her family and discover the world, even if it wasn't how they'd planned to do it at first. She'd talked about it with Killian, promising him that if they were living this now, they would still take the Jolly Roger and stop in every harbor one day, like they'd wanted to do for so long. She wanted to live that with him and Henry, and nothing could change her mind about that. They just had the incredible chance to discover the world a second time.

Her parents gave the departure signal soon after. They waved at Kate and Chiara as they were walking away, the two women smiling at how happy they all looked. Henry led Spark to catch up with Snow and David, while Killian and Emma were staying purposely back to simply be together in their happiness.

They soon crossed the palace gates and rode through the streets of the city. As always, the citizens greeted them warmly, what put Emma in an even better mood. They moved forward like this for a while, exchanging a few words with the people they met on the way, then they left the bustle of the city to dive into the calm of the forest.

They were heading for the little village that was the closest to the harbor, the one Emma and Killian had seen first when they'd arrived in this region. Smiling at how much their lives had changed since then because they wouldn't have to hide who they were ever again, she briefly looked at her boyfriend, biting her lower lip. They really were able to be carefree, maybe for the very first time. And she wished for this to last forever, because she was the happiest she'd ever been.

"Do you think we'll walk past the Jolly Roger?" She suddenly asked.

"Maybe. I don't know if we've planned to go to the harbor." Killian said. "Why are you asking?"

"I guess I miss it there a little bit." She sighed slightly. "Even if I love our new life… I kinda miss our moments on the ship, sometimes. It's seen us grow, you know?"

"I do." He nodded with a small smile. "But she's staying right there and we can go visit her whenever we want. She's not going anywhere."

"Don't you miss her?" Emma asked. "I mean, she's been your home for so long..."

"I didn't lose her. And your happiness matters more than the ship, love. I also know that we still have our little adventure to live with her, don't we? We can leave for a few weeks for a family trip and come back to the castle afterwards. I'm perfectly fine with that."

"Me too. It's going to be great when we'll finally do it." She said, before suddenly growing serious and adding a bit hesitantly. "I know we're okay here, but sometimes I do feel a bit guilty for dragging you into this. I made your leave everything that you ever knew..."

"Swan, I already told you." He kindly interrupted her. "You are my home, and I don't care of where I am as long as I'm with you. You don't have to apologize for anything. I'm just grateful to be by your side, always."

She smiled, touched by his little statement, and internally cursed her position that was stopping her from leaning to press a tender kiss on his lips. So instead, she reached out to grab his hook and squeeze it, trying to show him just how much she loved him without saying anything. Because she was feeling the exact same way. Wherever they were, as long as he and Henry were there, she was home.

* * *

As the days passed, she realized that this journey was everything she'd ever hoped it would be. She was having the time of her life. They were moving through the forest, stopping in the villages they were meeting on their path and talking with the people that were curiously coming to see what was happening. They would sleep in inns, share their meals sitting on the grass and start it all over again the day after. This was heaven.

After the first night, they left their kingdom behind to head North and get to the cities that hadn't been touched by the Dark Curse. It became immediately obvious that the South of the Enchanted Forest was way richer than the rest of it ever since the Lost Kingdom had come back to life, as it was so far from what Emma had known for her entire childhood. There were no beggars in the streets, the towns were clean and safe, and the people not suspicious of everything going on around them.

They reached the first big city five days after leaving the castle. Snow and David knew the King and Queen there, and they were greeted with cheerful smiles and warm hugs. Her parents' friends seemed genuinely happy to see all of them again, and Emma was so ecstatic her smile never seemed to leave her anymore. She was living a dream and it was so incredible she found it hard to believe it sometimes.

Because this trip was utterly amazing, and she loved everything about it. She liked talking to the people and listening to their stories. She liked joining the crowd that was rushing in the streets and discovering the marketplace, the shops, and the food of these regions she knew nothing about. And she had to admit that the citizens seemed to like her, too. They had all heard about her and were wonderfully welcoming. Her old distrust towards strangers was gone as she was conversing with them. She felt safe and good, and she always wanted to know more about everything.

Riding her horse for hours every day and walking the length of the towns and villages was exhausting, but she never complained, because this trip was a blessing. She wouldn't have traded this opportunity to discover the world for anything. She knew that she was building memories she would never forget, and she tried to etch every single moments into her mind to get back to whenever she wanted to feel this amazing happiness again.

Killian was never leaving her side, holding her hand and coming with her and Henry as they were going to explore their surroundings. They seemed even more in love than ever and she was so grateful that they got to live this old dream of theirs all together. She also knew that they would get to experience that all over again when they would decide to take this journey on the Jolly Roger, and she just couldn't wait. Maybe for the first time in her life, she felt like the future was safe and beautiful. This was such a relief after how much they'd fought to get where they were now.

A routine settled all naturally as the trip was going on. They would spend every morning in the town they'd stopped in for the night, and Killian and Emma would often find a calm spot to be able to get back to their sword fighting lessons, because she hadn't wanted them to stop while they were away from the castle. After lunchtime, they would go back to their horses and head for the next city or village they wanted to go to, where they would often arrive in the evening, when the winter sun had already set in the sky. The streets were still vibrant long after the moon had appeared above the houses, and Emma would go to meet new people and try to understand everything about all those new things she was discovering.

She was enjoying this journey more than she'd ever thought she would. She was talking to all these people, spending time with Killian and Henry and learning to know her parents after all those years of separation. She was waking up every morning with a smile on her face, her heart beating fast at all the incredible things she would live that day. She had everything she ever needed, her family and happiness, and she prayed that it never stopped.

* * *

The snow was muffling the sounds of the hoofs, endlessly covering the landscape. It was the middle of the afternoon, and everything was so calm and peaceful Emma closed her eyes to enjoy the wonderful feeling for a second. Despite riding through the quiet of the frozen forest for hours, she was far from being tired. She winked at Henry as he was sitting in the cart, Spark walking beside it. The little boy was staring at the top of the hill they were climbing in awe, enthralled by all the marvels he was discovering during these amazing times.

Their surroundings had gradually become a bit wilder as they were moving forward. They'd left the castle for two weeks and were slowly approaching their former region, that would be their final stop before they headed back home. The towns they were crossing seemed a bit less wealthy now and they could walk miles without finding a living soul. That day, after going through a thick forest for a while, they'd left everything to climb this huge hill, behind which was hiding the village they would sleep in that night.

Emma gently stroked Wave's mane as her horse was breathing heavily, exhausted by the climb she had started half an hour ago. It seemed to never want to stop, and the rider gently encouraged her mount, leaning to murmur comforting words to her attentive ears. As she was straightening back up after a few minutes, she said in a teasing tone.

"I hope that the sight is worth it up there, after all these efforts."

"The horse is the one that's working, Swan." Killian joked, what made Henry laugh from his seat.

She playfully rolled her eyes, used to these kind of little games between them, and she answered. "I'm well aware of that, that was just a turn of phrase, Jones."

"The sight is more than worth it." David smiled at their kind bickering. "The horses' efforts will be rewarded when we'll get to the village."

"The horses, huh? So you're all allying against me, now?" She replied, falsely offended and making everyone around her laugh.

"I guess Killian has grown on me a bit." David said with a face that made Emma chuckle.

"Ah, well I tend to have this effect on people." her boyfriend answered playfully, what made the King sigh dramatically, but he couldn't completely hide his smile.

"All right, don't push it."

Emma's grin widened as she was listening to the two men sharing jokes, happy to see them kidding around. She was once more amazed by how much their relationship had improved in such little time. David had really grown to like Killian, and knew that he was making her wonderfully happy. And she was so glad to see her family being united at last.

Her father hadn't lied, the view from up there was more than worth it. They arrived to the top of the hill a few minutes later, getting down from their horses to let them rest a bit and sitting on the snow to share a snack, offered by the inn they'd slept in the night before.

Emma however didn't pay any attention to the food, and she went to sit down a few feet from the group, settling just before the emptiness that was stretching beneath her feet. The hill resembled more a mountain as it was so incredibly huge, and the houses of the village seemed so tiny at the bottom of the slope. It was absolutely breathtaking, and she suddenly felt like she was overhanging the entire world. She took a deep breath, enjoying the freshness of the air around her and smiling at the sky as she felt like she belonged, finally.

"Enjoying the sight, love?" A familiar voice said in her back.

She felt fingers starting to play with a strand of her hair, and she grinned widely, happy to have some company. She tilted her head back to look at Killian, as he was watching her with so much love written in his features that her heart fluttered. He moved to come sit beside her after a second and she turned toward him, answering in a low voice.

"It's beautiful."

"True." He nodded. "But I have an even more gorgeous sight right next to me."

She blushed slightly and approached him as he was still looking at her like she truly was the most stunning woman he'd ever laid his eyes on. Not wanting to say something and break the moment, she just leaned to press her lips against his, and his fingers ran through her hair, making her smile against him. When they pulled away, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she rested her head on his chest to listen to his heartbeats, not wanting to part from him right away.

It was silent for a while as they were both looking at the landscape in awe, then Killian asked in a whisper. "Are you happy?"

The question was sudden, but it didn't surprise her. She knew that he always wanted to make sure that she was okay. "I really am. With you and Henry by my side, always."

"That's all that matters." He said, pressing another kiss to her forehead in a tender gesture.

His mouth moved then, going down her face to land on the tip of her nose, what made her chuckle as she was searching for his lips one more time. They were so close to each other, she could still feel his heart through his leather coat. They spent a while like this, kissing like they just could never get enough of each other, before finally being interrupted by Snow, who called them with laughter in her voice.

"All right, lovebirds, it's time to go down, now!"

It made them laugh through their kiss, and Killian pressed one last little peck on her lips, stroking her back before standing up and reaching for her hand to help her do the same. She dusted the snow from her thick winter cloak, and they stayed hand in hand to walk back to their horses, Henry, Snow and David looking at them with happy smiles as they both always seemed so connected.

They had to wait a little bit for the cart to be ready, and as Emma was looking at the path that was going down the hill to get to the village, an idea crossed her mind. She had a small, mischievous smile, suddenly wanting a bit of adventure. The ground wasn't that slippery and there was no danger whatsoever, so she approached Killian and said, defiantly raising her eyebrow at him.

"Wanna race?"

"What, now?" He answered, obviously surprised by her unexpected request.

"What better opportunity could we find? A little competition won't harm anyone. Don't tell me that you're scared, captain?" She purposely provoked him as a kind teasing.

"You'll see if I'm scared, lass." He replied immediately, half laughing as well.

Her parents and Henry had listened to the entire conversation, and they laughed out loud at their replies. Killian looked at her for a while and she wondered what he had in mind for this smirk to be dancing on his lips, but he suddenly began to move again and encouraged his horse to start galloping, leading him to the path without waiting for her.

Surprised, she needed a second to get Wave after him, trying to catch up with him and letting go of a falsely outraged cry, laughing as she was talking "Hey! You can't do that!"

The wind was blowing in her face, tousling her hair as she was following Killian in his race. She suddenly felt intensely alive and completely free and she chuckled, happier than ever. Wave ended up getting to Ocean, and they ran side by side, as if refusing to let any of them win the competition. She could feel Killian next to her as she was going so fast it felt like her horse wasn't even touching the ground anymore, and she swore that life couldn't get any better than that.

The race lasted for a few wonderful minutes, but Ocean ended up being faster and Killian got to the bottom of the path a couple of seconds before Emma. He jumped out of his saddle, letting his stallion catch his breath after the intense rush, and he reached for her hand to help her do the same. Their fingers interlaced as he was pulling her closer, and he whispered, his cheeks reddened by the cold and his eyes sparkling with happiness.

"I won."

"You cheated." She corrected, falsely mad. "That doesn't count."

"Well, you had it coming by defying me like that." He laughed, and she chuckled with him.

Exhilarated by what had just happened, she suddenly placed herself on her tiptoe to reach his lips and kiss him senseless on the spot. She felt the familiar butterflies appearing in her stomach, and she only pulled away to whisper against his mouth.

"I love you so much."

He wrapped his arms a bit tighter around her waist and caught her lips again to keep on kissing her until they couldn't breathe anymore.

* * *

The towns started to slowly grow poorer around them as they were moving to their destination. The forest was thick around there, only broken by little villages now and then, as the big cities had become rare. Emma was beginning to really dread the moment she would get back to her former region. She had to go apologize and talk to Matt, and if it definitely wasn't going to be easy, her fear wasn't all about that either.

She had hundreds of memories there, most of them terrible and painful. She was afraid of the people's reaction when they would recognize her, and she was scared of facing the loved ones of the man she'd killed. But she was also waiting for this moment, in some way. She felt like she needed to move on and to make amends for her mistakes, in order to finally live. The only thing keeping her from fully living her current happiness was herself. And she needed to do this in order to accept her past at last.

The night had settled in for a while outside, but Emma couldn't sleep as she was thinking about coming back to this place that she'd tried to escape for so long. She was lying down in Killian's arms in the inn they'd stopped at for the night, Henry sleeping in his own room on the other side of the hallway. Everything was quiet as the other clients were all asleep in the establishment, and yet she could tell at Killian's breathing that he was awake too. It wasn't surprising. He would always wait for her to have fallen asleep before doing so himself, as if he wanted to make sure that she was alright.

"Are you awake?" She whispered, even if she already knew the answer.

"Aye. Are you having trouble sleeping, love?" He answered gently.

She nodded and pulled away from his embrace to stretch slightly and sit up on the bed. Killian did the same, lighting a candle that was placed on the night table so they could see a bit more clearly. Emma was actually not tired at all, despite the hours spent at exploring the forest and the village in the cold. She also needed to think about something else, and she then offered, turning back to look at her boyfriend.

"Would you fancy a night walk with me?"

"Always, darling." He smiled. "Just let me go grab something, and then I'm all yours."

She frowned slightly, wondering what he had in mind, but she didn't ask him anything, knowing all too well that he would explain soon enough. He got out of the room in silence and she took off her nightgown to put on a tunic, leather pants and a cloak to face the freezing cold outside. Smiling at the fact that Killian was always ready to follow her in every single one of her adventures, she tied her hair up in a messy bun, then made sure that she had the dagger David had given her, just in case she would need it.

She also took a minute to write a note to Henry with the quill that was provided by the inn, placing it on her pillow so he could see it if he came into the room. It was highly unusual for him to come join them during the night these days, but she wanted to be certain that he wouldn't get worried if he saw the room empty. She was making sure that the piece of paper was visible in the dark when she heard Killian coming back.

Curious to know what he'd gone to fetch, she turned to notice that he was now carrying a basket, a little mysterious smirk dancing on his lips as she was throwing him a questioning glance. He placed the hamper on the bed to get dressed, and she immediately went to look at what was inside it. She almost let go of a little gasp of surprise when she realized what it was containing, not understanding her boyfriend's idea right away. There was food in there, and lots of it. Bread, jam, chicken, cake, and a bottle of rum. She looked up at Killian, shaking her head in confusion, and he smiled to explain the situation.

"I thought that we could picnic outside, in addition to this little walk we're taking."

"Where did you find all of this?" She asked, impressed by this romantic gesture, even if she should have been used to these kind of things by now.

"The kitchens of the inn. Don't worry." He added, seeing that she was about to protest. "I paid for this food before taking it. So, happy?"

"I love the idea. You're incredible." She said, approaching him to tenderly peck his lips.

"I know." He shrugged, making her laugh. "You're pretty amazing too, my Swan."

After one last kiss, they left the room and walked down the stairs on their tiptoe to get to the exit. She had to hold back her laughter, feeling like a kid about to make mischief. She'd never been able to be so carefree before, and she felt these moments as a true blessing, because she could just enjoy her son and boyfriend's presence without having to worry about anything else. It was huge given where she was coming from.

They got outside without getting busted and went to the stables to take care of their horses. Wave and Ocean greeted them with little neighs of delight, and soon enough, they were ready for their nocturnal hike, just the two of them, the snow and the sky.

They rode for a few minutes through the woods and only stopped after finding a quiet place in between the trees. They tied their mounts to a trunk, both smiling at the friendly nudge that Wave gave to Ocean as their riders were walking away. It was dark in the forest, the dim light of the moon a bit hidden by the trees, but the lanterns they'd brought with them were more than enough to live this perfect little moment together.

They finally settled in and they ate and talked, sharing jokes and their laughter echoing through the woods. They were both completely lost in their own little world, and Emma was once again hit by how much she loved Killian, her feelings seeming to grow a bit more every day. The depth of their love really was endless, so much that it seemed surreal sometimes. And it was amazing to be so certain that she was going to spend the rest of her life with this man that she trusted more than anyone in the world.

A huge, violent wind gust suddenly made her shiver as these thoughts were crossing her mind, and Killian wrapped his arm around her shoulders to bring her close. He rubbed her back to help her get warmer, and she looked up at him with a teasing grin to say :

"Are you sure that the cold isn't just an excuse to get me close to you?"

"I know you love it." He wriggled his eyebrows, what made her chuckle.

The teasing mood quickly faded away from the atmosphere though, and Killian looked straight into her eyes, seeming to lose himself in the depth of it. She felt her heartbeats fastening and, before she knew it, her mouth was on his as she was showing him just how much she liked being wrapped up in his arms like that. Their tongues met, making her moan slightly, and for one perfect moment she forgot everything around them. All that was existing was him, the loving touch of his fingers and his taste in her mouth.

She very quickly found herself straddling him as he'd lied down on the frozen ground. His clothes were gone in a matter of seconds as she was trying to get to his naked skin as fast as possible, and her own outfit didn't take long to go join his leather pants in the snow.

It was freezing, but she just couldn't pay any attention to it. His hands were enough to keep her warm and sweat was already covering every inch of her body as she was moving her hips in rhythm with his. She didn't try to hold back the cry that escaped her lips as she was diving into the abyss of her pleasure. No one was there to hear them in this forest, after all. It was just them, and this moment was all that mattered.

They quickly put on their clothes back as they were coming down from the height of their orgasms, the cold slowly beginning to reach their bones again while they were trying to catch their breaths. They spent a long time lying down in each other's arms after that, her head on his chest and his fingers playing with a loose strand of her hair.

Sleep was slowly invading her, as she was rocked by his loving gestures and was feeling so loved and safe in his arms. In a sleepy voice, she said into the quiet of the night. "That's nice."

"What is?" He asked gently.

"This. Us. Being able to simply be together without having to worry about anything else. That's nice."

"It really is." He answered, kissing her forehead and making her sigh in pure bliss.

She had to force herself to get out of his arms as the sky was starting to clear up, announcing dawn. The sun wouldn't take long to appear, and they needed to get back to the inn before anyone could notice that they were gone. When they finally got back to their bed, she found herself completely relaxed and happy. She barely had the time to hear him say that he loved her before falling asleep, her head resting over his heart.

* * *

"You both look exhausted. Didn't you sleep last night?"

Snow's question almost made Emma laugh out loud, but she managed to bite her lips and hold herself back, knowing that her reaction would be seen as quite suspicious to say the least. For the very first time since the beginning of the trip, Killian and Emma had given up on mounting their horses, letting them walk beside the cart. Both sitting down on the wooden surface, she was settled in between her boyfriend's legs, her head resting on the crook of his neck as his arms were locked around her waist.

Rocked by the movements of the cart and by Killian's loving touch, she had almost fallen asleep and had been woken up by Snow's voice. And their little noctural getaway had everything to do with how tired they were. They hadn't slept much, but she didn't regret anything and wasn't about to admit to her parents that they'd gone to lose themselves in the forest for some enjoyable activities.

She felt Killian smiling against her as he was answering. "We didn't sleep very well, we spent a good part of the night talking." This wasn't a total lie after all, and Emma couldn't hold back her grin this time.

"What did you talk about?" Henry asked, curious, as he had no idea of what was really going on.

"Adult stuffs." Emma said hastily, what made Killian chuckle.

She looked up to meet David's suspicious gaze as he seemed to know exactly what had really happened for them to be that sleepy now. Emma eyed him, feeling like he was about to make an embarrassing comment about the situation, but he just looked away after a second and said a bit grumpily.

"You should rest, then. We're stopping in a big city tonight and the evening is surely going to be eventful."

Emma smiled again and turned her head to bury her face in Killian's neck and breathe him in. Being so close to him was one of the best feelings and she wanted to enjoy this moment of tranquility. She knew that they were going to meet a lot of new people that day, and her father was right. She had to rest a bit in order to be ready for their arrival.

But the reality she discovered in this new town was far from what she'd imagined.

She could tell that the Enchanted Forest was getting gradually poorer as they were heading North toward her native region, but she wasn't ready for what she found in the streets of this unknown city they entered that day. Surprised and pained by what she was witnessing, she immediately sat up in the cart, feeling tears appearing in her eyes in an instant.

The noises of conversations were low, resembling more whimpers than actual words. And she unfortunately knew these sounds all too well, she knew what they meant. She had only rarely begged in the big city next to her native village as a kid, the agitation there scaring her a little, but she wasn't the only child that had been sleeping in the streets of her village back then. She'd never become friends with any of them, refusing to trust anyone after all the scars her little heart was already bearing, but she had also been well aware that a lot more of these kids were living in the city. And she only discovered how right she'd been all along now.

Even if she hadn't been living in a big town when she was younger, she knew all about these embarrassed whispers, these hungry pleads for help. She could have recognized them anywhere, because she'd done the exact same thing all those years ago. She'd come into age in this oppressive atmosphere, and her heart tightened when she realized that these people were living the same thing she had, in this city where no one seemed to care about them.

Everywhere she looked, people of all ages were kneeling on the frozen ground, looking down at the sidewalk as if they were ashamed. Emma suddenly wanted to cry because she knew this pain and this fear, and she wouldn't have wished that on anyone. She didn't want anyone to suffer like she had, and she felt so powerless as she was witnessing the misery going on around her. Killian seemed to understand her distress, because he grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, silently showing his support.

In a broken voice, Emma finally asked. "How come this part of the Enchanted Forest is so poor while the South is thriving?"

"The economic crisis is still happening in the North." the Queen answered sadly, obviously hurt by what she was seeing too. "I thought you knew."

"The region I grew up in was like this one. There were a lot of people with me when I was begging. I just didn't know it was the same everywhere." She said in a muffled voice, one tear rolling down her face.

Henry was looking all around him too, tears shining in his eyes. He was aware of what she'd gone through during her childhood and he'd known poverty himself, so he could tell the suffering these people were in. All these strangers seemed in such physical and mental pain, Emma felt her heart breaking in half. She wished she could have done something for them, anything to improve their situation, because she just didn't want anyone to be in such distress ever again.

She decided to act upon this idea right after arriving to the castle they were supposed to sleep in that night.

As they were crossing the gates, she immediately noticed the group of kids that were sitting in the snow, their cheeks blackened by dirt and wearing rags instead of clothes. They stared at them entering the palace with wide eyes, and this sight made Emma want to cry again. Internally, she promised herself that she wasn't going to stay passive about all of what she'd witnessed. She knew exactly what they were going through, and she just wanted to do something about it. She'd been one of them, after all.

So instead of accompanying her family to the dinner table that night, she simply met their hosts with an absent smile, then stated that she wasn't hungry and wanted to take a little walk outside. The look Killian gave her told her that he knew what she had in mind, and she briefly squeezed his hand before going back outside. She looked around her after leaving the property to find the group of kids she'd seen before, and spotted them a few feet away from her, still sitting on the ground.

They were gathered in a circle, but didn't seem to be begging as the night was slowly settling in. They were talking in low voices, as if trying to be invisible and seek comfort in each other. Emma approached them carefully, trying not to startle them in the process. She knew all too well that every noise could mean a danger in the streets, and she didn't want to scare them away. She didn't know what she was going to tell them, but she just wanted to give them a bit of hope if she could. She knew how broken she'd been when she was in this situation, and she just prayed that they weren't going to give up on themselves, like she'd almost done so many times as a kid.

She announced herself in a clear voice, hoping that they weren't going to run away. She knew how wary she'd been of adults at their age. "Hey"

They all turned at the same time to look at her. They were a dozen or so, the oldest one looking about twelve or thirteen years old. Some of the children jumped on their feet, as if ready to escape, but a little girl stared at her for a while before saying in disbelief.

"Wait, aren't you Princess Emma Swan?"

"Do you want us to move away from the gates?" The oldest boy added seriously. "We didn't mean to bother you. We just wanted to show the castle to the youngest ones, so we don't always stay in the bad corners of town. We can go if you want."

"No, please stay." Emma said immediately as he was gesturing for a tiny little girl to get back up. "I just wanted to come talk to you guys."

"Why?" Another boy asked, looking deeply suspicious.

Emma could understand that. They were mistrustful of her because a lot of people had made them feel like they were worthless, especially royals who usually didn't pay any attention to them. But she didn't feel like a noble. She'd been an orphan, just like them. She was coming from the exact same place. And she needed to make them understand that they were important and that it was going to get better one day, because she would have given anything for someone to have said those things to her back when she was in that situation.

Not paying any attention to the dirt on the ground, she settled in the snow next to them. They all startled and looked at each other in surprise, as the oldest ones were hesitating to sit back down with the others. Trying to prove them that she wasn't dangerous, she tried to smile and said in a low voice.

"I just wanted to spend a bit of time with you and see how you were doing."

"That doesn't make any sense." A boy said, frowning. "You're rich. No one does that."

"Well, I do." She simply shrugged. "I wasn't always a princess, you know. I've been an orphan too. I've lived in the streets, just like you, and I wanted to tell you that I know how it feels to be here."

"That's impossible." The little girl that had recognized her said, unconvinced. "You have parents. You're not an orphan."

"I didn't know that I had parents until a few months ago." Emma explained, trying to show them that she was telling the truth. "Before that, I was just like you guys."

"Why are you telling us this?" The oldest kid asked a bit coldly.

"William is right." A girl added. "Why did you come here? Even if what you're saying is true, you're a noble now. You forgot what it was like in the streets."

"Believe me, I didn't forget anything." Emma shook her head. "It will always stay with me, no matter what. It's part of my story. But now… now I have a family, even if I thought that this would never happen. And I just want to make sure that you guys won't give up on trying to find something better. I almost surrendered and I so wish you weren't suffering that much. But if these crazy things happened to me, your can find happiness too."

Emma suddenly realized that she was talking like Snow, with her big speeches about being hopeful. But she needed to tell these children that something better was awaiting for them out there. She didn't want them to feel worthless or unloved. They deserved happiness, and if she couldn't do much to help them because she wasn't from this city, she just wanted to give them hope.

"It was just luck." One of the boys shrugged. "It won't happen to us."

"I did have a lot of luck." She admitted. "But you guys will find something good some day. You deserve it more than anyone."

"I doubt it."

"Don't listen to Ollis." A young girl said. "He doesn't like adults, and he hates nobles."

"I know." Emma nodded. "I understand. I used to hate rich people too for treating me that way."

"But you're not like everyone else." The girl added, staring at her with her big brown eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"You came to talk to us. It never happens. You didn't ignore us or try to chase us away. You even sat down with us. You're just  _nice_."

Emma smiled at the child but it didn't reach her eyes. Realizing how much these innocent kids weren't used to kindness broke her heart, because they deserved to be loved and protected. And if she knew that she couldn't do much, she continued to talk with them, wanting to prove them that everyone wouldn't always be mean. She didn't want them to feel like they would never be enough for anyone, because she knew how it was like and she hated to think that they were going through the same thing.

She spent a long time speaking with them in the coldness of the night. She asked their names and they told her about what had happened to them in their short lives, while she was sharing parts of her story too. She learned that they were sleeping in an abandoned basement in a dark street of the city, sharing the little money they'd managed to gather during the day to buy food and try to survive all together. How brave they were moved her beyond words, and she prayed to every gods she could think of for them to find something better really soon.

As the night was well settled and the youngest began to yawn, Emma understood that it was time for her to leave. She turned to William, the oldest boy that was obviously taking care of the entire group. He was looking a bit older than he really was, and she realized with a shock that he was about the same age as Henry. She leaned toward him to talk and said seriously.

"Look, I'd like to do so much more for you guys. You deserve to be happy and to have a roof above your heads and to never have to worry about starving ever again. But I'm only here for the night, and I don't know what I can do in such little time. I'm going to talk about the situation to my parents' friends though, because they're good people. I'm going to convince them to do something and improve what's going on. It just can't go on that way. But meanwhile..."

She moved to untie the purse that she always carried on her belt. It was containing the money she usually used to pay for her meal, everyone in her family having the exact same, but she knew that these kids needed it more than she did. She gently took William's hand and placed the purse in it, and as the young boy was looking at her with wide eyes, she said :

"I trust you to divide this fairly between everyone, kiddo. You probably have enough to buy blankets and a few hot meals with this. Can you promise me that you'll keep on watching over the others? They're lucky to have you."

"I promise. I...Thank you." He stuttered, looking utterly surprised by what was happening.

"Don't thank me, I should be able to do so much more for you."

"Coming here to talk with us about your story already means a lot." He said with a surprising maturity. "You didn't forget about your past, and what happened to you gives us hope about the future. You're a great princess, Emma Swan. I wish that everyone could be like you."

She was left speechless by his reply, and he had a very small smile before gesturing for everyone to get up and go back to their basement. He hid the purse deep into his pocket, scared that someone would try to steal it from them. She waved goodbye to these kids that had touched her heart beyond words, as a few of them were approaching her for a brief hug. And then she watched them disappearing into the darkness of the night, wondering how this was even possible to let children starve like that while other people were outrageously rich.

She mentally promised herself that she would do something to help the situation as soon as she possibly could. She was a Princess now, she had the voice she needed for people to finally listen. She could change the world, and she was determined to do so. She couldn't let anyone suffer the way she had any longer.

* * *

She only talked about her meeting with the kids to Killian. She didn't want to overwhelm Henry as he was a sensitive little boy, and she was somehow worried that her parents wouldn't understand, even if she knew that they'd gone through hardships too. She only told them that she'd given her purse to someone who needed it more than she did, and they immediately gave her a new one without asking one question. This new gold had the bitter taste of unfairness, and it now seemed to weigh a ton on her belt as she was walking in the towns and villages.

Her boyfriend understood her feelings easily, and he promised that he would help too when she would find whatever she wanted to do to improve the situation in the Enchanted Forest. She was aware that if she couldn't see it, poverty existed in the South too, and she swore that she would help as best as she could there, since she lived there now. She would do everything in her power, and she wouldn't give up on those people. Her past had broken her many times, she didn't want anyone to be shattered like she had been.

They arrived in their former region a few days after that. Her heart tightened painfully when she entered the village that had seen her grow, beg, steal and kill. She was utterly worried about what was going to happen now that she was there. She knew that the citizens were going to recognize her, because she'd been wanted for weeks, her face plastered on every tree. And now she was coming back after murdering someone while knowing that she couldn't be punished for it anymore. This was bad, to say the least.

She chewed on her bottom lip as she was riding next to Killian, but she knew exactly what she needed to do now that she was arrived at last. First, apologize for everything that she'd done. Then, find Matt and have a talk with him to move on from this part of her life. She wasn't going to back out now.

"That's Emma Swan!"

They had barely ridden past the first houses that a growing crowd was already starting to surround them. Emma had expected that to happen, and she stopped her horse at once, looking at the people around her. They seemed surprised and angry to see her there, making her shiver uncomfortably.

Her family came to a halt as well, knowing that the time had come for her to do what she should have done long ago. She got down from Wave and climbed on the cart, so everyone could see her. She didn't start talking right away and waited for the crowd to get bigger, what happened in barely a few minutes. As the whispers had grown quiet and everyone was looking at her suspiciously, she started to speak with her heart pounding so fast in her chest she felt like it was going to burst.

"I know that you're probably wondering what the hell I'm doing here, and I know that you have no desire to hear about me after what I did. Some of you may hate me and wonder how I dare to come back here after my crimes. And yet, I decided to be here today because I have to apologize."

People started to share surprised murmurs again, and she stopped for a minute to let the silence settle in. The residents had obviously expected her to start bragging about her success now that she'd discovered that she was the Princess, and they looked sincerely taken aback by what she was saying. Emma looked at her family as they were holding a bit back, searching for Killian's eyes to give herself the strength to keep going. The entire village seemed to be gathered around her now, and she continued, her voice a bit shaky.

"I am so sorry. I'm sorry about stealing, even if I did so in order to survive. I'm also incredibly sorry about killing. It was all an accident and I never wanted to hurt anyone, but it happened and I think about it every day since. I stole a man from his loved ones, and I'll regret it for the rest of my life. If someone knows who he was and if he had a family, I'd like to talk to them to apologize too."

"His name was Aaron." A voice said in the crowd. "He didn't have any family, but a lot of friends."

"Thank you. I'll go meet with them." Emma promised. "I would also like to make amends for my thefts. You didn't deserve this and I'm sorry. I worked for a while after I ran away and before I learned that I was the Princess, and I still have most of my savings. With this money, I'd like to repay everyone I stole from. I know that it's not much after what I did, but I just want you to know how much I regret what happened, even if I don't expect you to forgive me."

The crowd stayed silent for a minute, shocked by her offer. Killian looked at her proudly from where he was standing, as she'd talked to him about wanting to pay back everyone they'd stolen from with their own money. Her parents however hadn't known about this before, but they were now smiling too, happy that she'd taken this decision. And Emma stood there, waiting for the citizens' reactions, her stomach in knots as she was wondering what was going to happen now.

And finally, the crowd started to move again. They began to talk all at the same time, and if they still looked angry, the hate she'd read in their eyes before had seemed to disappear. Not knowing what else to say, she finally got back on the ground and, with Killian and Henry by her side as her parents were heading for the inn, they walked the length of the village to give the money the owed to the victims of their thefts, under the curious gazes of everyone in town.

The sellers all accepted their apologies even if some of them looked angrier than others, and they finally took the long walk to go back to the shop where they'd stolen the bracelet that had made everything crumble. They spent a long time talking to the owner there, repaying him for what they'd done so long ago. They explained why they'd acted like that and apologized, and it's against all odds that he looked at them sincerely to say. "I forgive you."

As they'd planned on going to talk to the friends of the man she'd killed the next day, their last thing to do that night was go back to the tavern she'd worked in for a decade. Her heart was pounding against her ribs and she had to take a deep breath before being ready to dive back into her troubled past. This was definitely an important chapter of her life that she had to close before living the next.

She'd expected to find the place crowded, like it'd always been when she was working there, but the main room was half empty. It made her frown as she was holding Henry's hand in hers. Her little boy was looking all around him, rediscovering this place that had been his home for his entire childhood and that he'd had to leave so suddenly.

Emma took a second to remember everything about this tavern, the way she would work for endless hours, the regular clients, the energy she'd always put into everything she was doing. All of this had been her life for so long, it was strange to realize how much it had changed since she'd left this place.

A familiar voice suddenly rang in her back, snapping her out of her thoughts. She turned, already knowing who had talked. "Emma." Matt simply said, looking truly moved to see her there.

"Hi, Matt." She answered with a vague smile.

"I heard the rumors that you were back in town. I'm happy that you came. Gods, you've changed so much since the last time I saw you."

He had changed too, she thought to herself. He seemed so much more tired, older somehow, his brown hair now gray and looking like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. She just gave him another smile and changed the subject, internally wondering what the hell had happened to him. "What's going on here? Where are all the clients?"

He sighed slightly and answered, looking suddenly very sad. "You were right since the beginning. Calvin was stealing from the tavern."

She kept silent and felt Henry lightly squeezing her hand.  _They're going to regret it one day_ , he'd told her, and yet she couldn't find any joy in the fact that she'd been right. Matt was a good man, even if he'd fired her, and his son's actions had very obviously made him suffer a lot. She waited for him to continue, and he said, looking down and seeming a bit defeated.

"He continued even after you were gone. I only discovered it months later, too blinded by my love for him, and the tavern was on the edge of bankruptcy by that time. The food became of a lower quality, I had to let some of the other employees go, and the clients simply stopped coming."

"I'm sorry about that." Emma said sincerely. "Is Calvin here?"

"He's in the kitchens." He answered with a small smile. "He's working like every other waiter now."

"That must change him a lot." She stated, thinking of this man that had treated her like dirt for years and that was finally getting what he deserved.

"I'm sorry, Emma." Her former boss suddenly said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry for not believing you when I should have, and for firing you and putting you in a bad position while you were innocent."

"Don't be, it's okay. It's in the past." She replied, feeling at peace with what had happened at last thanks to this conversation. "I don't blame you."

He looked truly relieved for a second, and moved to yell towards the kitchens. "Calvin! Someone's here to see you!"

Waiting for his son to arrive, Matt turned back to her and suddenly wrapped his arms around her out of the blue. At first surprised, she ended up hugging him back and he pulled away after a second to fluff Henry's hair, repeating this gesture that he'd had so many times while they were living there. Finally, after taking a deep breath, he said.

"I'm so happy to see you, Emma. I'm happy that you seem to feel good in your new situation, and that you managed to find out who you really were. You too, little man." He said as Henry was smiling up at him. "You deserve to live this happiness after everything you've been through."

She was opening her mouth to answer him when she saw Calvin's figure appearing behind his dad. She guessed his surprise before she even saw his face, and she left Matt to take a step forward and stand in front of her former enemy. He looked completely taken aback, and she stared at him as he was asking in a low voice, his eyes widened.

"Emma?"

"Hello, Calvin." She answered without smiling.

"What… what are you doing here?" He stuttered.

"I came here to have a little talk with you about what happened last year. I never understood the origin of this hate that you had for me, if it was because I'm a woman or because your father liked me, and I'll probably never know. But you've been unfair to me for far too long. So many things have changed since you got me fired for something I didn't even do. And if I came in this village to apologize for my behavior, I also came here to get the apology that you owe me."

She knew that there was very little chance for him to give her what she wanted, because he'd always behaved like a jerk, refusing to admit his mistakes. He looked so stunned now, and he stayed silent for a second as she was calmly waiting for his reaction. Even if she didn't get what she'd asked for, she was feeling so much better now that she'd said everything that had been weighing on her heart for so long.

They stared at each other for a long while, and she thought that he wasn't going to say anything at all when he finally looked down and whispered."I'm sorry."

She sighed with the strange feeling that she was now finally ready to let go of the pain of her past. She could forget about her anger toward him and completely embrace the wonderful life that was now hers. And it felt so good she couldn't help but smile, because she was finally ready to live.


	26. Chapter 26

After everything that had happened in her former region, Emma felt so much lighter for the rest of the trip. She'd got to apologize and to move on from the anger she had still been keeping toward Calvin, and she was now feeling completely free. She could enjoy this life and be with her family without having to worry anymore, and it was the greatest gift in the universe for her. She was just happy. So much that she could hardly believe it sometimes.

They visited a few other villages on their way back to the castle, moving back to the South as the cities were becoming bigger and wealthier again. She could now see the poverty that was hiding behind these beautiful facades though, and she knew that one day, she would do something to make this world a better place, so no one would never suffer like she had. No kid like William would ever have to be all alone in the world, and she was determined to change the unfairness of this society that she was now living in.

She felt like she'd learned so much about herself during this journey, too. She'd discovered the Enchanted Forest like she'd always wanted to and she had realized that she could actually be happy. She'd spent so long believing that she was incapable of it, this acknowledgment made her smile for days. She'd never been closer to her son and she was more in love with Killian than ever, while the relationship that was shyly building between her and her parents had improved considerably with all these moments spent together. One day, she knew that they would manage to really be a family. She still had to work for it, but she was ready to trust them now. She simply needed some more time to really open up to them.

The castle appeared before their eyes eight weeks after the beginning of their trip. The days had gone by so fast, Emma could hardly realize that it'd been so long since they'd started their wonderful journey. It was still cold outside, but the snow wasn't covering the ground anymore, announcing the spring that wouldn't take long to arrive now. She had discovered that she was the Princess months ago, and yet it was still hard to wrap her head around it sometimes. Still, she could now embrace her new position fully, and she didn't have to be scared anymore.

Leading Wave toward the gates of the city, Emma looked at what was now her home with a small smile. So much had changed since she'd left the palace to take this trip with her family. She'd become better at horseback riding and sword fighting, she'd met the citizens and had started to think that maybe she could be a good ruler after all. She just wanted these people to be happy, and had finally understood that they weren't expecting anything from her. They were just glad to see that she had a good heart. And she was feeling so good it felt like her heart was going to burst sometimes, at how lucky she was to be able to live all those wonderful experiences.

She was however not ready to face what was awaiting for them now that they were back.

They understood that something was off as soon as they stepped into the familiar streets of the city. This town that was usually so vibrant, ringing with the noises of conversations and laughter, was now completely empty. The stalls on the market had been left unattended, and only the sound of the wind welcomed them as they were entering their kingdom. A threatening atmosphere was floating around, as if dangers were lurking in the corner of every street. Items were abandoned on the ground, an empty basket, a toy, a scarf that was carried away by the breeze. The place looked like a ghost town, and Emma's heart tightened as she just couldn't understand.

Trying to grasp what the hell was going on, she looked around her to realize that the citizens hadn't left. They were still there, hidden behind the curtains of their homes. She could see their stares following them from the windows as they were walking past the houses, their eyes looking scared and sad. She could tell that something bad had happened there, the air thick with the memories of a tragedy she still knew nothing about. She turned to her parents to see that they were both tense on their saddles, deeply concerned. In a low voice, as if to avoid disturbing the silence, she asked.

"What the hell is going on?"

She saw Henry shivering slightly, as if feeling this oppressive atmosphere that was surrounding them in his bones. Trying to reassure him, she searched for his eyes and winked, but she failed at giving him a real smile. Something horrible had happened while they were gone, and Emma could tell that everything had shifted once again. She was so worried she felt like she was going to be sick.

"I think I know exactly what occurred here." David grumbled, leading Mist to walk a bit faster in order to join the palace as soon as possible. Worried as well, the guards that had been accompanying them until then brought their horses to gallop in direction of the gates, ready to fight against whatever was going to be thrown at their faces again.

The King didn't add anything, but Snow was so pale she looked like she was about to faint. Emma could guess that something from their past had just come back to haunt them, even if she couldn't quite tell what it was yet. The good mood that had surrounded them during their entire trip was gone now, completely forgotten. She had the disturbing feeling that something was watching them as they were moving, and had to turn back a few times as a shiver was running up her spine. She didn't want to smile anymore. She was horribly scared about her family being in danger again, and not knowing what was going on was driving her crazy.

They arrived to the castle quickly after that. Everyone kept on looking at them in silence from behind their windows as they were heading for their destination, making them feel highly uncomfortable. When they finally got to the gardens of the palace, they gave their horses to a stable boy and almost ran to get inside and finally know more. Killian searched for her hand while they were moving in silence and their fingers interlaced as he seemed about to start panicking as well. The carefree happiness they'd got to live for a wonderful while had disappeared now, and she somehow knew that it wouldn't come back for a long time. She suddenly wanted to cry.

David announced that he was going to go get Kate and Chiara to have more information about the situation, but he didn't need to move any further than the hall for that. Alerted by the guards that had arrived before, the two women were already waiting for them, looking deeply worried. Emma had never seen her friends without their usual cheerful smiles before, and it only strengthened her feeling that the worst had happened while they weren't there. She was shaking slightly by the time she joined the assistants, wanting to know more but wishing that she could pretend that everything was fine all at the same time.

"What happened?" Snow asked immediately, hugging Kate, then Chiara with fear audible in her voice.

"Let's go to the library for that." Kate decided. "Everyone is already stressed enough as it is. They don't need to hear this story yet another time."

They walked to this room they'd all spent so many hours in, and the moment seemed to last for an eternity. Emma's legs were quivering as she could feel that everyone was in danger once again. She tried to take some deep breaths and pull herself together, because she couldn't start panicking now. They were going to be just fine, she didn't even know what was happening yet. Maybe she was just imagining things. Maybe it wasn't that bad. She really hoped so, anyway.

Their friends waited for them to have settled into the huge couches before starting to talk. Emma sat down next to Killian, their shoulders touching as if they were trying to find comfort in each other during these hard times. Henry was on the edge of his seat, ready to jump on his feet at any given moment and run away from something he still knew nothing about. It broke her heart to see her son so worried while he'd been so happy barely a few moments before, and she placed her hand on his knee to calm him down. She just didn't want him to be scared, not again. She simply wanted him to be a kid.

She watched Kate and Chiara looking down, sighing while they were sitting down as well, as if they just couldn't believe what was happening either. Finally, the latter took a deep breath and said all while slowly shaking her head. "It's Regina. She's back"

Emma felt like she couldn't breathe for a horrible second, and she had to dig her nails into the pillows of the sofa in order not to start screaming.  _In and out_ , she thought, trying not to go crazy.  _In and out_. David swore out loud, looking like he could have punched something at how angry he obviously was, and Snow shrank in her seat, on the verge of tears. As for Killian, he searched for Emma's hand and started to gently stroke her skin with his thumb, as if he wanted to make sure that she wasn't going to get hurt.

Hoping that she hadn't heard correctly, even if she already knew that it wasn't the case, Emma asked in a muffled voice. "Regina… The Evil Queen?"

Chiara slowly nodded and she closed her eyes, as she couldn't pretend that all of this wasn't real anymore. She was doing the best she could in order not to run away from there and find a place where they could truly be happy. Because she was back. Regina, the one that had wanted Snow dead for years. The one that had forced her parents to giver her up because she hadn't managed to forgive a ten-year-old for telling a secret. The one that had tried to break them and had left them shattered, that had cast the Dark Curse and had trapped an entire kingdom for almost three decades.

Emma had naively thought that she wasn't a threat anymore. She had believed that it was all over. Regina hadn't shown herself since the Dome had disappeared, and now she couldn't believe that this villain was going to terrorize the population all over again, as if she hadn't done enough already. She didn't want to accept the fact that she was back, while she'd finally thought that her family was safe. Why was the Evil Queen striking now, after all this time? Hadn't her parents suffered enough?

"I knew that she wasn't gone, this damn witch!" David cried out, infuriated by the news. "That would have been too easy! I knew that she was waiting for the right time to attack, when we weren't expecting her to, because everything was going so well!"

"But why would she do this now?" Killian asked in a calm voice, even if Emma could guess how afraid he actually was behind his composed behavior.

"We were gone, away from the kingdom because we were so sure that everything was going to be okay, now that we were reunited. We thought that we'd won for good, and now she's back." Snow said, unshed tears shining in her eyes and she sniffed discreetly. "She took advantage of our absence to scare the citizens, so they wouldn't feel safe anymore. They're afraid, because they know what she's capable of and how far she can go to get what she wants. She's always liked hurting innocent people to get to her goal."

"Her goal being to hurt us, I suppose?" Killian guessed, squeezing Emma's hand a bit tighter in his.

"Without the shadow of a doubt. She hates me. She knows that I'm happy now that we've found Emma back. She's certainly going to make sure that I don't keep this happiness for much longer, because I took hers away. She waited before attacking because she wanted us to feel safe for a while, she wanted to take us by surprise and make us suffer even more. She's always done that. I should have expected it."

She let go of a little sob, and David immediately took her in his arms, losing his furious expression to kiss her forehead and whisper words that Emma couldn't hear to his wife's ear. She had to admit that she was finding it pretty hard not to start crying as well. She knew all about Regina and what she'd done to the couple, she'd read this story countless times to her son. And because of a mistake that a little girl had made years ago, the Evil Queen had decided to make everyone suffer and pay for her misfortune. This was wrong, unfair. And this was only the beginning of a new war.

She still wanted Snow's death after all those years. And she was capable of anything to get what she wanted. Everyone was well aware of that. She'd cast the Dark Curse, after all.

"She must be planning this for months." Snow continued in a voice muffled by her tears. Everyone was silent in the room now, trying not to start panicking over this. They needed to stay calm in order to find the best possible solution to face this situation "She knows exactly what she wants to do to us. And I don't know how to stop her."

"Rumpelstiltskin's visit makes so much sense, now." David added in a whisper. "Regina's probably discovered that Emma has powers, and she's still working with the Dark One, because he can give her everything that she wants since she doesn't care about the consequences. He had something in mind when he came here to offer his help, and he probably wanted to see how strong these powers were to use it against us when needed. Now that he knows that Emma won't try to learn more about them, Regina isn't afraid to attack anymore."

Emma blinked, trying to keep on breathing slowly as she had to process these news. Everything seemed so obvious that it was almost scary to think that they hadn't realized what was happening sooner. When they'd discovered that she had magic, the Evil Queen had thought that she was going to learn how to use it, and had thus sent a spy, someone who could inform her about Emma's skills so she could use what she knew against them.

When she'd thought that the Dark One had left empty-handed after his visit, she'd been so wrong. He had learned that she didn't want anything to do with this magic, even if it was strong. And unfortunately, this was playing in Regina's favor, as she was searching for a way to hurt them. Now that she knew that Emma couldn't fight her with her powers since she wanted to ignore this part of herself, she could attack them anytime and win. A flick of her hand, and they were all dead. How was this even fair?

Her family was in danger again, all because of something that had happened decades ago. How could Regina still be mad at Snow for what she'd done, anyway? Her mother was just a kid back then, and Emma couldn't believe that she was still trying to get her revenge. Or maybe she was just using the past as an excuse to kill more innocent people, because she liked being cruel. In any case, she was terrified. She didn't want to risk losing everything again, right after finally finding this family she'd dreamed of for so long. And deep down, she already knew that she had to do something about this, because she wouldn't let this woman ruin everything that she'd tried to build.

For now though, she mostly needed to convince her son that they would be alright. He seemed so scared, and she wrapped her arm around his shoulders and brought him close, wanting to show him that she would always protect him and that nothing would happen to him as long as she was there. Looking back at Kate and Chiara, she asked with a surprising confidence, as if this new decision she'd taken to fight had given her the strength she needed to face the situation.

"What did she do while we were gone? Why is everyone so terrified?"

"It was bad." Chiara answered, shivering a little at these hard memories. "We haven't been able do anything to stop her, because she took us by surprise. It all began about ten days ago. She appeared in the middle of the marketplace, out of nowhere, and before anyone could even realize that she was back after all those years, she killed two poor innocents that were just standing there."

"Everyone panicked." Kate continued. "No one could believe that she was there to spread terror again. All the citizens are hiding inside their houses now, they're afraid that she is going to strike again. She hasn't come back since then, but we all know that she's going to attack again soon. She promised to make them all suffer form supporting Snow White while they should have followed her instead. And the gods know what she's capable of."

"It's all my fault." Snow whimpered, sinking her head into her hands as David was gently stroking her back.

"It's not, honey. It's _her_  fault, don't blame yourself. You were just a kid when you did what you did, and she should have forgiven you long ago. It's all her, not you."

"But… does that mean that we're in danger?" Henry asked in such a small voice that Emma thought her heart was shattering.

"Don't you worry, lad." Killian said immediately, and Emma leaned to press a kiss to her son's forehead, trying to comfort him. "As long as I'm here, nothing is never going to happen to you or your mum. We'll protect you no matter what, Henry. No one will ever hurt you."

The little boy nodded and snuggled a bit closer to his mother, but he seemed a bit reassured by his dad's words. Kate took a second before continuing, frowning deeply "The problem is that she said she wanted to hurt you, Emma. She's furious that you've escaped and survived her curse, and that you managed to break it. She can't stand the fact that you found your family and that you make your parents happy. She knows that the best way to hurt Snow and David isn't to kill them anymore. It's to harm you, because you're finally reunited after all this time and she wants to take you away from them again."

Against all odds, Emma didn't even feel scared anymore. She was in a rage. Her heart was pounding so fast she was feeling like it was going to explode, and she just wanted to scream her anger. How dared she? Why was this woman she didn't even know trying to hurt her, while she'd just found happiness at last? She wanted to punch a wall. She wanted to go face this Evil Queen who thought that she was so powerful and make her regret everything that she'd done. She couldn't let the situation go on that way. She had to do something.

But if she wasn't afraid for her own safety, she was terrified for her family. She didn't want them to suffer because of this, she didn't want anything to ever happen to them. Killian moved to wrap his arm around her and hold her close, and she could feel how scared he was at the way he buried his face in her hair to breathe her in. Henry seemed about to start crying as well, and he was holding onto her for dear life, as if he wanted to make sure that he wasn't going to lose his mom. They all knew what Regina could do to her, but she wouldn't let her hurt anyone ever again. She was going to fight, she had no other choice.

Wanting to reassure those she loved the most, she then stated. "She won't do anything to me. I promise I won't let her. If she tries anything, I can defend myself. Everything is going to be just fine. We'll make sure that she can't hurt anyone else ever again, and then everything will go back to normal. We've been through much worse, haven't we?"

"We'll help you hide, if needed." Snow added, as she'd stopped crying and was now looking ready for a fight as well, her expression assured and determined. "She won't get close to you. Blue can help us to place protection spells around the castle, and if it's too dangerous out there, you won't get out for a while until we're sure that Regina isn't a danger anymore. We'll do everything to protect you. She won't hurt you."

"I don't want to hide, and I can protect myself." Emma replied seriously. "I actually have a way better plan than what you're offering."

She knew that the idea that had suddenly crossed her mind was the right thing to do. She was a bit afraid, she couldn't lie about it, but she also needed to take control over this insane situation. She had to protect her family at all cost, and if facing her fears was the price to pay, she would do it gladly. She wasn't going to let Regina terrorize anyone any longer. The Evil Queen probably thought that she was going to find a helpless little princess. But Emma wasn't powerless. And she was determined to prove it.

A thick silence had settled as everyone was waiting for her to continue, intrigued by her words. She straightened and, still holding Henry close, she said. "We're going to beat her at her own game."

"What do you mean?" David asked, obviously not understanding her statement.

"We're going to take advantage of the fact she thinks that I can't defend myself, and surprise her. After the Dark One's visit, she thinks that I won't try to learn about my magic, correct? And what if I decide that I want her to be wrong about that?"

Everyone knew exactly where she was going with this, now. She was internally terrified, but she was aware that this was the best thing she could possibly do. Her magic was a part of her, whether she wanted it or not. She had no desire to explore it, but she couldn't ignore it anymore and had to fight for everyone that was suffering out there. Her powers could be an asset, if she ever learned how to use them correctly. She could take Regina by surprise, and this would give them the time they needed to catch her and make sure that she would never hurt anyone else again. She had to do it, for her family and for the kingdom. And she had to do it for herself, so she wouldn't be scared anymore.

"I'd do anything to protect all of you." She said then. "I'm going to learn how to use my powers. Regina won't know what's coming."

* * *

"Emma, are you sure about this?" Snow asked, looking slightly worried. "You can still change your mind, honey. I promise no one will be disappointed because of this."

"Yes, I'm sure." Emma simply said, her voice a bit less assured than she would have wanted it to be.

She was scared, but she knew that she couldn't back out now. If she gave up, she would never learn how to use her powers and her family would be in danger because she hadn't been strong enough. She just had to set her worries aside and focus on what was truly important : make sure that they were all safe. She had the means to defend herself and those she loved, she just had to be brave and learn how to use these tools. She wouldn't let Regina get close to the people she cared about.

She could feel Killian's presence next to her, helping her to keep calm. He was supporting her in this with everything that he had, telling her how amazing he thought she was every hour of every day and giving her the strength to keep going. He was her rock, and she was doing all of this because she loved him and Henry more than anything in the entire world. With them by her side, she knew that she could do anything.

Her son had wanted to be present too, even if she was a bit scared to hurt him with these powers that she knew nothing about. She was aware that they were strong and she didn't want him to be there in case they would get out of control, but he'd insisted so much she hadn't had the heart to say no. She knew that Killian would protect him if anything had to happen, anyway. And the little boy was now standing a bit behind his father, looking at her with wide eyes and curious to know more about this magic he was such a fan of.

Her parents were there, too. They had wanted to support her in this hard decision she'd taken, and if they were looking a bit worried about her because she was so afraid she was shaking slightly, she could also tell that they were really proud. She was conquering her fears, and they all seemed to think that she was so incredibly strong. And she needed to make sure that they wouldn't get hurt by Regina once again. She'd broken a curse with this magic already. She knew what she could do, and she was finally ready to learn about it. And she would eventually be able to defeat the Evil Queen.

Taking a deep breath, she straightened a bit and looked at Blue, bracing herself for what was coming next. They'd only come back from their trip a couple of days earlier, but it already seemed like an eternity ago because of the fear that had replaced the happiness in their hearts. The fairy had immediately come to help her when they'd asked her too, because she knew that this was an emergency. She needed to know everything about this quickly, in order to stop Regina. And after that, they could finally be totally happy.

Her parents' friend stayed silent for a while, looking a bit concerned. She'd told her before that she wasn't sure that she could help her a lot, because their magics were very different. She would try, she'd promised anyway, because she really wanted the kingdom to be safe again. Still, no one knew what Emma really was capable of, and it was time to finally find out. She knew she could do it. To protect her family, she knew that she could overcome anything, because they were the most important things.

They were all standing in the training room they usually used for her sword fighting lessons with Killian. Her stomach was in knots and she took the time to take a few deep breaths, as everyone was waiting for her to tell them that she was ready to begin. Finally, she nodded, feeling like she was going to throw up, and she told herself that it was all worth it if it was to make sure that everyone would be okay at the end of the day.

"Alright, Emma." The fairy said then without smiling. "I can already tell that your magic is way more powerful than mine is, since you're the Savior and you are he product of true love. Still, I think I can help you to learn how to use these powers without being scared of them. We're going to start with a small exercise today, okay? I want you to try and light this candle." She added, gesturing toward the item that she was holding in her hand.

"What am I supposed to do?" Emma asked, staring at the object with a frown. She wasn't sure how to gather all this energy toward a goal, and she started to doubt the fact that she could actually do it.

"It's different for everyone. But don't think about it. You can't use magic with your head. You have to use what you're feeling inside. You need to feel these powers, and think about who you want to protect with them. Listen to your heart, not your mind."

"Easier said than done." She growled in answer.

Even if she'd opened up a lot since she'd met Killian, and even if being a mother to Henry had taught her so much, she'd tried to bury her own feelings for so long that it was hard for her to listen to them sometimes. She was still hiding behind walls with her parents, even though she was trying to fight against herself to finally stop acting that way. Using her own emotions was making her feel vulnerable, and yet she knew that she didn't have a choice anymore, because her powers had always appeared during very emotional moments. She had the key, she just needed to learn how to use it.

In order to give herself some strength, she jumped a few times, shaking her hands to try and focus more easily. She did her best to ignore the knots that were still there in the pit of her stomach, so she could be totally available for the lesson she was being taught. Finally, she stopped moving and closed her eyes, lifting the palms of her hands and trying to light this damn candle. How hard could it be, anyway?

But the seconds, the minutes passed and nothing at all happened. She tried to concentrate a bit more, but she was getting nervous and she opened her eyes again with a growl of anger. She wanted to hit something, in order to evacuate all this frustration. She couldn't fail. She had to learn, and yet she felt like there was an invisible barrier that was preventing her from reaching this magic she needed so badly. She didn't know what to do about it and it was infuriating.

If she couldn't make a simple flame appear, how the hell would she be able to defeat Regina and help the kingdom? She was caught in the middle of this battle that wasn't hers, and yet she had to protect these citizens from knowing more pain. They were innocents, her family was too, and she had to control herself, she had to succeed and save them all. They weren't calling her the Savior for nothing, but she just couldn't do anything on the moment, and she felt like she was about to scream.

"It's okay." The Blue Fairy said with a kind smile, seeing that she was about to explode. "It's normal to struggle a bit the first time. You need to learn how to become one with your magic, before you can succeed in using it properly."

"But if I can't even light a stupid candle, how am I supposed to fight and save this kingdom? Regina could do anything and I wouldn't even be able to defend myself or those I love" She panted, trying to remember how to breathe.

"Emma, love, it's alright." Killian said then, approaching her to look into her eyes, and losing herself into the familiar blue of his gaze managed to reassure her a bit. "Everything is going to be just fine. I'm sure that you can do this, but take all the time that you need. Nothing is going to happen to Henry, your parents or me, I promise you this. Don't put that much pressure on yourself and think that you have to save the entire world. I'm sure you'd be able to, but we're all here to support you. We'll protect each other, darling. You're not alone."

Emma didn't know how he knew exactly what she needed to hear every single time, but she felt herself relax completely at his words. She nodded, still looking at him, and she grabbed his hand as he was offering her a reassuring smile. Their fingers interlaced and he stayed by her side as she was closing her eyes again, ready to face these difficulties once more now that he was there.

Things were different, this time, as she wasn't nervous anymore. She just focused on the touch of his hand on her skin and on how good it was making her feel and, soon, a new sensation arose in her. It was strange, but not unpleasant. And she vaguely understood that she was about to figure everything out.

Her fingertips got slowly invaded by small tickles, getting stronger and stronger as she was holding Killian's hand a bit tighter. The sensation moved, going up her arms before nesting in the pit of her stomach. Surprised, she realized that a little ball of light was slowly building there. It was warm and comforting, making her think of a tiny little sun living inside of her. The more she focused on it, in awe of what was happening, the more it grew just beside her heart. For a moment, she thought that it was going to explode. And then…

Then nothing. It was gone, but Emma didn't get frustrated this time. She had no idea of what had really happened, but she felt at peace with herself. The sounds gradually came back to her as she was opening her eyes, and she suddenly realized that she'd forgotten everything during this strange experience. The only thing she'd been able to feel was Killian's hand in hers. She heard her family sighing behind her, and her eyes finally fell on the candle the fairy was still holding, and on the small but strong flame that was dancing above it.

She breathed deeply, feeling like her heart was going to burst. She'd actually done it. She was aware that it was a simple candle and that she was far from being able to save her family with that, but she felt suddenly so proud. It was definitely a step in the right direction, and a huge one given how scared she'd been. She could guess how happy everyone in the room was as well, because Blue was smiling widely, and Killian gave her hand a gentle, encouraging squeeze.

"Woah, Mom, that was awesome!" Henry cried out, overexcited by what he'd just witnessed.

"You're amazing, Emma." Killian said in a low voice, sounding completely awestruck. "I knew you could do it. You're brilliant, absolutely brilliant."

He was so proud and she felt her heart skipping a beat. Without thinking or paying any attention to the fact that her family was in the room, she turned to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him senseless, just because she felt like it. He grabbed her waist and kissed her back, smiling as he was holding her. She knew that it was his hand that had allowed her to get access to this magic as she'd felt so safe against him, and she wanted to show him how grateful she was for his endless support. She really was the luckiest woman to have found him, she thought as she was tilting her head to deepen their embrace.

They only pulled away after a long time, trying to catch their breath and their cheeks reddened by the strength of their moment. She only realized that maybe they should have held themselves back a bit when she saw David looking down at the floor, obviously pretty uncomfortable. If she was being honest though, she had no regrets because she'd needed to feel her boyfriend close after this very important thing that had just happened. She saw that their son was laughing slightly, always happy to see his parents so in love, and when she turned back to the Blue Fairy, she noted the little smile that was dancing on her lips.

Obviously amused, she stated "That's a very good start. We'll be doing more difficult tasks soon, but for now, do you think you can do that again?"

Emma nodded immediately, her confidence boosted after managing to use these powers that she'd been so wary of for the first time. She was closing her eyes again, trying to make the same little sun appear in her chest, when she felt Killian's hand slowly pulling away from hers. He probably wanted to leave her to focus on the exercise, but she really didn't want him to go. So she turned to him and called him back, gently grabbing his fingers again.

"Wait, don't go. You're helping." She added when she saw his questioning look.

"I'm staying right here, Swan." He then said with a small smile, holding her hand a little bit tighter.

"Good." She just replied, smirking, and quickly dived back into this strange trance that she was just discovering.

She succeeded at lighting a dozen of candles that day. Slowly, she started to feel more comfortable, smiling as the task was getting easier and easier for her to accomplish. She was actually pretty excited to know more about all of this now, because she still couldn't really understand what was happening. She could simply tell that she had so much more to offer. This was just the beginning of a long journey she couldn't wait to take.

* * *

In Blue's opinion, Emma was progressing amazingly fast as her lessons were continuing day after day. After the candles, she managed to light bigger lanterns, and succeeded in making them flicker whenever she wanted to. Her classes then focused on heavier items, that she tried to make fly across the room. And finally, she faced wooden dummies, training to hit them with everything that she had and make them fall over, all while imagining that they were Regina trying to attack her family. In barely a couple of weeks, she could do things she'd never even imagined, and she was quite proud of herself. She couldn't find any limits to her powers. And yet, she wasn't scared anymore.

Now that she was learning about this part of herself, she had no reason to be afraid. And at her own surprise, she was even starting to like this magic that she was trying to control. She was enjoying what she could do with it, and she couldn't believe that she'd learned so much in such little time.

She could now control them most of the time and defend herself, even if she still hadn't been confronted to a real danger yet and thus didn't know how she would actually react during an emergency. Regina seemed to be hiding again, probably waiting for the right time to strike, and it was giving Emma the space she needed to train more and be ready when she would come. Her days were now punctuated by these sword fighting lessons, the horseback riding ones and her ever-present magic.

And through all of that, Killian never left her side.

He was always there to encourage her, murmuring that she was amazing and giving her the strength she needed to keep going and never give up. She was fighting for him, for Henry, for her parents so they would never have to suffer again, and knowing that she could now protect them was relieving her so much. Because if Regina wanted to kill her to hurt Snow and David now that they'd finally found her back, she could as well hurt Killian and Henry. Emma wouldn't let her do such a thing, though. The Evil Queen wouldn't know what was going to hit her when they would finally meet face to face.

"Can you give me the pillow, please, love?" Killian casually asked her one evening, as he was lying down in their bed.

They were getting ready for the night, and he'd just noticed that one if his pillows had landed on the floor, near her side of the bed, during their moment the day before. As he was already settled underneath their blankets, she was still standing and tying her hair up in a messy bun. They were tired and were pretending to be going to sleep, even if they both very well knew that they wouldn't take the rest they needed right away. Not a night went by without them making love, after all.

Her hands busy with her hair, Emma didn't bother to move and, instead of answering his request normally, she decided to use this magic that she was starting to like so much. She only had to focus for a second, and the item went to gently land beside her very amused boyfriend as she was smiling happily at her performance.

"You do know that you could simply have picked it up, right?" He teased gently, laughing a bit.

"I do, but you have to admit that it would have been a lot less impressive." She replied with a little smirk.

"You do love showing off your powers, don't you?" He continued as a joke, and she slowly approached the bed as she was answering.

"And I know that you like it."

Biting her lips, she immediately straddled him, losing herself in the deep blue of his eyes. She wanted him, right there, right now, and the lust she read in his gaze told her that he was feeling the exact same way. She grabbed the collar of his shirt and brought his lips to hers, and he answered her strokes by holding her a little bit closer. He seemed to love this new confidence that she had in herself, and she could tell that he was determined to show her just how much.

In barely a few instants, he already found himself bare chest, and she ran her hands down his naked stomach to tug at his pants and encourage him to take them off. She only pulled away for a second to stare at him, licking her lips to get one last taste of him. He was  _gorgeous_ , with his blue eyes darkened by the love he had for her, and she cupped his cheek as he was murmuring against her skin.

"You're so right, my darling. I love that a lot. And I love you."

It made her want to kiss him even more, and she pressed her mouth against his once again, rocking her hips to fasten their pace. Without even thinking about it, she moved her wrist and turned off all the lanterns of the room so they could be in the dark. The only light she left burning was the little candle on her night table, and Killian smiled against her, his hand finally finding its way underneath her nightgown as they were as always in perfect harmony.

* * *

The first danger Emma faced took place three weeks after the start of her lessons.

It was way too soon in her opinion, but it wasn't like she had a say in it. She knew that she was far from having learned everything there had to know about magic, and if she was training as much as possible and was actually getting good at it, she was still worried that she wouldn't be able to really defend herself when the time would come. Hitting a dummy was one thing, trying to fight someone who was moving and trying to hurt her was another entirely. She was well aware that she just wasn't ready yet.

Still, she was still making progress and could now use her powers without having to fight against herself, and if Killian was still helping her to feel confident and always go further, he didn't need to be beside her at all time anymore. And even though she was concerned about the first time she would have to use these new skills, she was also reassured that she could defend herself now, even if it wasn't much yet. She'd taken control over the situation and over her own life again. Regina hadn't appeared since they'd come back from their trip through the Enchanted Forest, and she was slowly starting to hope that maybe she'd given up on attacking them. Despite the dangers lurking, she felt safe.

She was wrong.

The snow was now gone for a while and if the trees were still bare, the weather was slowly getting warmer. Encouraged by the sun that seemed to finally have come back after months of freezing cold, the entire family decided one day to go take a walk on the marketplace and enjoy the company of the citizens there. They needed this afternoon of calm before Emma went back to her training, and she was happy to go in town and talk with the people there a little bit.

Because since they'd come back, the soul of the city had seemed to rise from its ashes again. The threat Regina was representing seemed so far away, now that she'd disappeared for several weeks, and the people were reassured now that their rulers were back. The streets were crowded again, and the citizens seemed to have found their smiles back.

The family hadn't talked to anyone about her lessons of magic, to take Regina by surprise if the time to fight ever came. Only a few people knew about it in the castle, and they'd managed to keep the secret surprisingly well. Even if they didn't know that she was getting ready for a fight, the people were obviously trusting them to defend their town if something had to happen. And everything seemed to have gone back to normal at last.

No one could imagine what was going to happen that sunny, beautiful day of spring.

Emma was walking in between the stalls of the market, exchanging a few words with the citizens that were waving at her. They all knew her now, and she was truly glad to be able to share a few friendly moments with them. She wasn't feeling like a princess at all, even if she'd finally accepted the fact that she was actually one. She felt more like someone who had to protect these people, but she wasn't a royal, deep down. Just an ordinary girl that had been put in this crazy, sometimes scary, but amazing situation.

She'd put on a long dress for once, the sensation of it a bit strange now that she was almost always wearing leather pants instead. She was holding Killian's hand, and was watching Henry as the little boy was staring at the cages of a stall that was selling colorful birds. Smiling, they both approached their son and she placed her hand on his shoulders as he was looking at a beautiful parrot in awe.

"Isn't it gorgeous?" She said to him, tenderized by how amazed he looked.

"Can we have one, please?" He suddenly asked, turning to her and his eyes shining with hope.

"Really?" She raised her eyebrows at him and he pouted, making her laugh. "Henry, you already have a horse. Don't you think that you're already busy enough with Spark? We really don't need a bird, kiddo."

"Never mind." He shrugged, looking slightly disappointed. "When I'll be older, I'll have dozens of them."

Emma shared an amused glance with Killian, and her boyfriend was opening his mouth to reply something and gently tease Henry, when his words got lost in the panicked screams that suddenly rang all around them. They all startled and turned to see what was going on, their heartbeats already fastening as they somehow already knew all about what had just happened. Emma had never heard the citizens so scared before, and this could only mean one thing.

Everything had just crumbled.

As she was searching her surroundings to spot the origin of the panic, a feminine voice rang in between the stalls. Everyone had become dead silent, as if scared to even breathe. No one moved, aware that running away wasn't of any use with the person that had come to attack them. And they all waited for something to happen, shaking slightly with the horrible feeling that everything was about to go south really quickly.

Regina was there. She was turned toward Snow and David, who had held a bit back to look at a particular stall. As they were lost in the middle of the crowd and as the Evil Queen wasn't paying any attention to the citizens, she hadn't noticed Killian, Henry and his mom yet. Emma suddenly became strangely calm, bracing herself for what was to come. She had an advantage, she was still invisible. And she was going to use it.

"So, the royal family is out as I can see?" the Evil Queen sneered in a cruel voice.

Emma wrapped one arm around Henry to keep him close and safe, still holding Killian's hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. She could feel her boys' fear in her own bones, and she just wanted to comfort them. Because she wasn't scared at all. She knew what she had to do. She had been preparing for this for weeks, and if she wasn't completely ready yet, she knew that she would do what she needed to in order to protect her family and everyone around. Nothing was going to happen to any them, she wouldn't let it.

Still keeping a physical contact with her son and boyfriend, because she knew that they needed to feel her close on that moment to try and not start panicking, she placed herself on her tiptoe to see what was happening around her more clearly. A circle had formed when the villain had arrived, and in the center of it were now standing her parents and Regina. She could only see the back of the Evil Queen, recognizing these long black locks tied up in a high ponytail that she'd seen so many times on paintings or in her son's books.

The woman was wearing a dark, long dress, and Emma finally caught a glimpse of her face a second later. The witch would have been pretty, she thought, if it hadn't been for this hate that was shining in her eyes and deforming her features. She was staring at Snow and everyone seemed to be waiting for the next part of her little speech. Emma's mother didn't step back though, defiantly looking at her biggest enemy, as David was moving to stand a little bit before his wife, as if trying to protect her.

"Snow White. It's been a long time, hasn't it?" The Queen finally continued with a smile that made Henry shiver against Emma. "I thought that I was finally done with you, but I have to admit, you know how to survive."

"What do you want?" Snow asked, her chin up and her voice as cold as ice.

"Oh, isn't it obvious? I want your daughter."

It was so discreet that it became almost invisible, but Emma could see the crowd moving slowly to stand before her and her family and hide them. The first moment of surprise gone, she realized that they were actually trying to protect them, as Regina still hadn't noticed that they were there yet. She blinked, suddenly moved by these people's loyalty. They only knew her family for a few months and yet they were covering them, not even paying attention to their own terror. This only made her more determined to act quickly. She had to save these innocents, but she however didn't move right away. She had to wait for the right moment first.

Regina was obviously too focused on Snow to really notice anything else that was going on around her, and she continued. "Your daughter, who was supposed to die the day of her birth. The Savior, as they all call her. She's a survivor too, this one. But I have no other choice than to kill her, you see? This stupid little princess broke my curse, and I can't forgive that. She has to pay. So, where is she?"

"You'll never get to her." David growled, completely furious to be facing this woman that had ruined his life.

"Oh, but I will. And you'll be forced to tell me where she is. Because if you don't, I won't hesitate to kill every single one of these citizens. You didn't manage to protect them once, when I cast the curse. Will you do what is right now, Snow White, or will you continue to be the selfish little girl you've always been?"

Snow didn't answer and no one moved an inch. Emma could feel how scared everyone around her was, but they were determined to protect her and hide her from the witch. She had to act, right now, because she couldn't let any of these brave people get hurt in this fight that wasn't theirs. It was time, or Regina was going to harm somebody. She was ready.

She then let go of Killian's hand and gestured for her son to hold his father instead of her. As Henry was staring at her with wide eyes, not understanding what she wanted to do, her boyfriend obviously already knew. Aware that he couldn't make any noise, he vigorously shook his head, trying to make her change her mind because this plan was definitely very dangerous. But she also didn't have a choice, so to try and comfort him, she leaned to his ear and whispered.

"Whatever happens next, keep on protecting Henry." Seeing that he was about to protest and hold her back, she cut him off by dropping a little kiss to his lips and she murmured. "I love you."

And before he could say anything at all, she kissed the top of their son's head, reminding him of how much she loved him as well, because she didn't know what was going to happen to her now. She wasn't scared, but she knew that she could get hurt and if she did, she wanted these words to be her last. She watched her two boys for a second as they were both looking at her with tears in their eyes and, knowing that if she didn't leave now she wouldn't at all because seeing them hurting was unbearable, she turned to lose herself into the crowd.

Noticing that she was moving, the citizens seemed to somehow understand her silent plan, and they didn't make one noise that could have betrayed her presence. She quietly went to stand behind the Evil Queen, still hiding among the citizens so she could attack her by surprise, and she immediately noticed that David had seen her. Regina couldn't sense that something was going on behind her or everything would crumble, so Emma pressed a finger against her lips to ask her father to stay quiet. He understood right away and turned back to his enemy, who was too busy threatening everyone to pay any attention to the King's reaction.

"So, who is the one I'm going to kill for protecting Emma Swan?"

"You won't kill anybody." Snow stated, looking angrier than Emma had ever seen her before.

"If you don't give me what I want, you can't stop me and you know it."

"You won't have to hurt anyone, Regina." Emma then said loudly, taking a step forward to be seen by everyone. "I'm right here."

Her enemy turned at once, startled by this voice she didn't know yet. Her dark eyes took one second to recognize the woman that was now facing her, as they'd never been face to face before. One second that changed everything, because it allowed Emma to strike before she could do anything to stop it.

She'd already gathered her powers, leaving what she now called her little sun shining in the pit of her stomach until she needed it. She only had to focus for a split second in order to throw her magic at Regina. The crowd stepped back, taken aback as they'd thought that she'd never learned to use these powers. The Evil Queen couldn't do anything, too surprised as well, and she wasn't able to avoid the flash of white magic that hit her right in the chest. She fell down at Snow and David's feet, staying still for a bit as she was a little stunned.

Emma was before her in less than an instant. Her long dress was bothering her a bit to move quickly, but she tried not to pay any attention to it and stood before the villain, brandishing her dagger and overhanging her as she was still lying down on the ground. The woman looked at her with wide eyes, and Emma guessed that no one had tried to stand up to her in a very long time, given how speechless she was now. Her jaw clenched and her free hand in front of her to use her magic in case Regina would try to move, she said :

"You were expecting a defenseless little princess, weren't you? Surprise!"

The shock of the moment gone, everything went silent around them again as Emma was staring at this enemy that she didn't even know personally. She just knew that she had to make sure she wouldn't hurt anyone ever again. The idea of possibly killing her didn't even cross her mind though, because she'd promised herself that she would never do such a thing again. She could still read in Regina's eyes that she'd finally understood what she was capable of. She was scared, and was obviously too stunned to use her magic right now, as she hadn't expected to be attacked in return.

Trying to protect the people around her because Emma knew that she couldn't win against the Evil Queen's magic, not yet, she just wasn't trained enough, she used her powers to strangle her. Not too much, she left her space to breathe, but she just wanted her to believe that she wouldn't think twice before going further if she tried anything to hurt these people. She continued in a low voice, so angry at this woman that had caused so much pain to everyone.

"You would deserve to be killed, right here in front of this crowd, after everything that you've done to this world. And yet, I won't get down to your level. I'm better than that. If you try to harm these people though, I won't hesitate. Understood?"

Regina didn't answer, and Emma internally wondered when the hell the guards would finally appear to get this witch to a cell and lock her up for the rest of her life. She just wanted the kingdom to be safe. Everything was still quiet though, and she then strengthened her magical grip just a little bit more, what made the Evil Queen gasp in pain. Looking straight into her eyes, she repeated.

"Understood?"

She still didn't say a word, but Emma could see that she'd got the threat very clearly. She however was able to act again, now that her surprise had faded away. She took advantage of the fact that Emma had lessened her hold just a little bit, to move her wrist in a quick gesture and disappear before anyone had the chance to do anything to stop her.

Emma blinked in surprise, standing in the middle of the circle formed by the crowd. She was vaguely aware that Regina could have attacked her easily, but she'd been in a bad position and if she'd tried anything to hurt her, David's sword would have ended up in her stomach. So she'd preferred to run away. Emma felt slightly mad about it. She would have wanted for everything to be over and to be able to stop this once and for all, but she also knew that the worst had been avoided. Regina hadn't harmed anyone. She'd saved the citizens, at least.

The silence was almost oppressive as she was starting to breathe again, putting the dagger back in its sheath and trying to fully realize what had just happened. And then, everything came back to life at once. Noises began to ring in the streets again, and she needed a moment to grasp that the crowd was actually clapping, congratulating her for her courage. Snow and David ran the few feet that were separating them from her, and they took her in their arms, shaking slightly. She hugged them back and was about to reassure them when she heard voices in her back, broken and terrified.

"Swan?"

"Mom?"

Henry and Killian had talked at the same time, voices muffled by their sobs. Emma pulled away from her parents to turn and welcome her two boys into her embrace. Her son was on the verge of tears, holding onto her for dear life, and Killian seemed to have trouble breathing, as if he'd been holding his breath the entire time and was only starting to breathe again now that he was back in her arms.

"I thought… we were gonna lose you." Henry sobbed, and she held him a little bit closer to her, tears in her eyes at her little boy's distress.

"I'm right here, kid. I'm not going anywhere." She promised and nothing mattered anymore except reassuring the two most important people of her life.

"I thought that I was going crazy, to see you in danger like that." Killian then whispered in her neck.

She pulled a little bit away from him to be able to look into his eyes. Trying to comfort him, she cupped his cheek and one tear rolled down his face as he was staring at her like he couldn't believe that she was real. Touched by his sadness, she tried and failed to smile, saying in a small voice.

"Sweetie, look at me, I'm fine. Don't cry, please, I'm okay. You're not losing me. Never. I swear."

"You were amazing." He said, biting his lips to try and stop his tears. "I was just scared."

"I know. I just couldn't let her hurt any of you."

Now that the adrenaline was slowly leaving her body, she was suddenly feeling so tired she could barely stand on her own feet anymore. The citizens were still clapping around her and she turned to try and reassure them, but she stumbled, completely exhausted. Killian noticed it right away and he wrapped is arm around her waist as she was collapsing against his chest. He pressed a kiss to her temple, looking like he never wanted to let her go ever again.

"Let's go home, my love." He said very softly

She simply nodded, feeling so comforted now that she was back where she belonged : in his arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I just wanted to clarify something quite important here. For those who know me, you know that I don't particularly like Regina. For that reason, she appears in this story only to be an obstacle on Emma's journey to real happiness. There will be no redemption arc for her whatsoever, and this fiction will always stay an Emma and Captain Swan story. I hope you liked this chapter though, and thank you so, so much for reading! See you next time!


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! I'm very, very excited about this chapter because a big (and happy) thing is coming, and it's going to be a huge subject in the next few chapters to come. I hope you'll be as happy as I am, because I'm very impatient for you to read this!

Killian refused to leave her side for a few days after what had happened at the marketplace. Emma didn't even feel like teasing him about it. She knew just how scared he'd been to lose her, she could guess it at the way he would hold her at night, as if he were afraid that she was going to disappear. Sometimes, she would feel him bury his face in the crook of her neck as he thought that she was asleep, and breathe her in to convince himself that she really was okay. And he would look at her like she was an angel coming right from the sky when they would make love, as if he couldn't believe that she was real. She was truly saddened by how worried he was all the time, now. She just hoped that soon, he would understand that she was alright and wasn't going anywhere.

Henry had been pretty shaken up, too. He hadn't said anything out loud, but she could see that he was much more clingy than usual, wanting to come along each time she would go out of the palace. Because she was refusing to hide after what had occured, even if she knew that Regina was still a real threat to her. And her son seemed to think that as long as he was there with her, nothing could happen to his mom. She didn't have the heart to refuse this to him, and she would often take him in her arms and kiss his head, to prove him that nothing bad was going to hit her.

Regina had seemed too surprised after the discovery of Emma's powers to come back since then. The kingdom was thus calm once again, and the citizens were less terrified than they'd once been. They had someone to fight for them and protect them now, and the soul of the city had luckily not been broken by this new attack.

A couple of weeks after the events, Emma suddenly had an idea. She was aware that Henry and Killian needed to feel her close after everything that had been going on, and she knew exactly what to do to make them feel better. And she wanted to be with them, too. She had to promise them that she would be okay, and she had to remember who she was fighting for.

That night, Killian and her were lying down in bed as the sky had grown dark outside. Her head was resting on his bare chest and he'd wrapped his arm around her to keep her close. She could hear at his breathing that he was starting to get sleepy, exhausted by their previous activities, but she also knew that he wouldn't allow himself to completely fall asleep until she had closed her eyes too. He was just like that. He always wanted to watch over her before finally resting himself.

And so, knowing that he wouldn't dive into his dreams right away, she gently stroked the skin of his stomach and said in a whisper. "Babe?"

"Aye, love?" He answered immediately, sounding completely awake at once. It was as if he were scared that something was wrong, and she reassured him by dropping a little kiss to his collarbone before continuing.

"I just had an idea."

"What is it?" He encouraged her, sounding suddenly curious and his fingers playing with one strand of her hair.

"Well, I was thinking, and I realized that Regina hasn't attacked for a couple of weeks now. If we follow her logic, she'll stay calm for another little while. My parents are there to protect the kingdom, and I believe that we're not very needed here right now."

"I'm afraid I don't follow you, darling." He stated, a bit lost, and she smiled against him because she knew that they'd waited for this moment for a very long time.

"Don't you think that it's the perfect moment to finally go take that trip on the Jolly Roger?"

He didn't answer right away, but he moved a little bit and she understood how surprised he actually was to hear her question. She could get that easily, because the Evil Queen was striking again and they were all in danger, but she also had to take care of her boys. She couldn't let all of that stress make them miserable. They needed to live this moment just the three of them, and it wasn't like she was leaving the kingdom unattended either. Everything was perfect for them to go.

She looked up to watch his expression and smiled. She could see the gorgeous blue of his eyes despite the darkness of the room, seeming to burn like a flame as he was staring at her in awe. She didn't say anything, she just waited for him to be ready to talk again and, finally, he asked in a voice that was shaking a bit with how moved he was.

"Are you serious?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" She answered gently, the moment so tender she felt her heart flutter. "I wouldn't joke about that. Regina probably won't attack while we're gone, and I just want to find you and Henry back. I want it to be just the three of us for a little while. Why do you seem so surprised?" She added as he was still looking at her without saying a word. "We're talking about this for years. This trip is important to us and I can't wait to do this with you."

"I know." He said, and he stopped for a second before continuing in a low voice, as if he wanted to find the right words before talking at last. "We promised ourselves that we would to live this dream, and even if it's not what we imagined at first because we wanted to spend the rest of our lives on the ocean, I'm more than happy to do this. I never doubted the fact that we would live this moment sooner or later, because it's been on our mind for so long. But to be honest with you, I thought that we would decide to take this step much later. I thought that we would wait for the lad to be older, and for us to be completely settled in the castle."

"Why wait?" Emma shrugged. "We waited long enough already, and we finally have the means to make this dream come true, now. And I want to be with you two for a while, just like it was before. We need to do this, and after everything that's happened, we need this time to unwind a bit."

The trip they'd taken through the Enchanted Forest had allowed them to see a good part of the world already, but there was still so much more to explore, especially since they hadn't come close to the ocean during the journey. The only times they'd truly seen the sea had been when they'd left the kingdom, and when they'd arrived to her native region. Traveling on their ship this time would allow them discover another part of the continent entirely. They could stop in harbors and visit the villages on the edge of water. This would be the perfect trip for all of them.

Looking into his eyes, Emma could see that he was going to accept this offer without hesitating. He now had the biggest smile on his face, even if he still seemed a bit taken aback, and he continued. "I simply thought that you wanted to stay at the castle, for now at least. You've just found your parents, and I believed that you wanted to get used to living here before doing anything else."

"Well." She then admitted in a whisper. "I really love spending time with David and Snow and learning more about them, and I'm happy that we're here now, even with everything that we have to face. But even if I don't regret this situation because it's brought so many good things with it, I do miss our time on the Jolly Roger, sometimes. I miss when it was just the three of us, and I just want to find that again for a little while."

"I miss it too." He confessed gently. "I like it here as well, but our little family is perfect and I just wish that I could spend all the time in the world with you."

"Me too. And since we won't be able to live this life we had planned at first." Emma added, grinning at his sweet words. "I thought that maybe we could take that kind of little trip every year or so, just the three of us, what do you think? Only when the kingdom won't need us, of course, but this could be a good thing to look forward to."

"That's a marvelous idea, my love." He said in awe. "I want to live these moments with you and Henry since I met you. I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am that we get to experience this, always together."

"I'm happy too." Emma murmured in the quiet of the room, her smile widening. She stared at him for a while in silence, then she added in a teasing tone. "So, captain, are you ready for an adventure?"

"With you? Always." He answered tenderly.

She sighed and snuggled a bit closer to him, feeling her heart growing in her chest at how much she loved this man. Her lover and best friend, her past, present and future. She wanted to spend the rest of eternity with him and, together, they could go through any storm and be alright at the end of the day. As long as they stayed hand in hand, nothing could stop them from finding happiness. They shared that kind of beautiful, endless love that didn't ask for anything in return. They just wanted the other to be happy, because they were each other's world, so much that she even felt like her entire universe was revolving around him sometimes.

She chose not to say anything at all, in awe of what she was feeling for him once again, because it was so strong. Instead, she moved to reach his lips and he kissed her senseless, understanding everything she couldn't say out loud because her love for him was just too powerful.

* * *

The next day, they were both a bit nervous as they were sitting in the dining room to share breakfast with the entire family. They'd decided to talk about their idea to Snow and David right away because they just couldn't wait, but they were truly worried about their possible reaction. They knew that they wouldn't refuse this to them, but they didn't want to upset them in any way either. The couple had just found their daughter back after all, her fight with Regina had shaken them up a bit too, and Emma didn't want them to feel like she was abandoning them, because it wasn't the case at all. She just wanted to spend a bit of time with her boys, to let go of all the stress of the last few weeks.

Her parents had no idea of what was going on, even if she could tell that they'd already noticed their strange behavior, and were throwing them questioning glances from time to time. Beside her, Henry was almost bouncing up and down on his seat, the biggest smile on his lips as he just couldn't have been happier about the news of this upcoming trip.

They'd talked to him that same morning about this idea, to see what he was thinking about it, even if they already knew that he would obviously be thrilled. They'd joined him in his room as he was barely waking up, and they'd settled in his bed to talk to him, recreating this moment that they'd shared so many times back when they were still living on the Jolly Roger. She'd kissed his head to help him get out of his state of sleep, and she'd said cheerfully, because she was just so happy about these plans.

"Henry, you know this dream that we all have to go on the Jolly Roger and discover the world together, just the three of us?"

He'd nodded enthusiastically, and she'd read in his eyes that he'd already understood what was going on. She'd playfully fluffed his hair and had shared a glance with Killian, as he was continuing to finally tell their son the big news.

"We know that we've already seen a good part of the world, lad, but would you be okay with us taking this trip now?"

Henry had gasped in pure bliss, and both his parents had hugged him at the same time as he was telling them how ecstatic he was and how much he loved them both. Their little boy was absolutely delighted, and there was only one thing left to do now : telling her parents about all of this, so they could choose a time to go and live this beautiful adventure together. Henry's smile hadn't left him once since then, and she wished that he could be this happy for the rest of his life. That's all she wanted for her baby boy.

Emma looked at him for a second, winking as he was grinning up at her. Seeing that her parents were beginning to really wonder what the hell was going on with all of them, she finally decided that it was time, and she took a deep breath to begin. "So, we have something to tell you."

The couple looked up form their plates at the exact same time, ready to finally know the reason behind these strange looks they were exchanging. Not really knowing how to tell them everything, Emma searched for Killian's hand underneath the table and their fingers interlaced all naturally. She could feel how excited her boyfriend was as well, and she finally smiled, as she knew that she was probably worrying for nothing. This was just a trip. They'd deserved a bit of time to themselves after everything they'd been through.

Snow raised one eyebrow, intrigued, and asked to encourage her daughter to explain "What is it, honey?"

"Okay." Emma hesitated for a while, then she finally said, knowing that beating around the bush wasn't of any use. "You know about this trip that Killian, Henry and I wanted to take, right? Well, we thought that maybe it was time to finally plan this."

Henry looked at the couple, grinning at them to see their reactions. Snow and David shared a look, seeming a bit surprised, but Emma could also see that they were both already smiling. It reassured her, as they didn't seem to feel like it was a terrible idea. She waited for them to say something, but their silence lasted for a long time, and she started to get anxious all over again. Maybe they were thinking that they should wait to defeat Regina for good before leaving, but they didn't know how much time it would take, and she couldn't wait anymore. She just wanted to live this, she needed to find her two boys back.

So she started to talk hastily, trying to prove that their plan was a good one and that this wasn't such a big deal, after all. "I mean, we decided to do this because Regina is hiding for a while, and I don't think that she will strike again any time soon. She wants me, but she knows what I'm capable of now and she won't try to attack me before she completely understands my powers. And… we need this. We want this for a very long time, and we have the means to finally do it, so we really want to live this dream together. We don't think that it will affect anyone, we just want to unwind after everything that's been going on lately..."

"Breathe, sweetheart." David cut her off gently, an amused smile dancing on his lips. "It's okay."

Emma finally got quiet, realizing that he was right and that she needed to calm down. She didn't know why she was so nervous, because she was pretty sure he parents wouldn't disagree with this plan. So she offered her father a sheepish smile and did as he'd said, taking some deep breaths and trying to erase her irrational worries. Snow smiled at her reaction as well, and she shook her head, saying kindly :

"Emma, you don't need to justify yourself. If you want to go, we're certainly not going to refuse. We told you that you were free to do whatever you wanted, and you said it yourself, you've been waiting to do this for a very long time."

"Really?" She sighed, feeling suddenly so relieved. She still had to work a lot in order to really trust her parents, she suddenly realized. But they just wanted her to be happy, she couldn't forget this anymore.

"Of course." David said, as if it were obvious. "You're a beautiful family, and you all deserve to live this together. You've been dragged into this situation, this life that you didn't know, and you've never complained once. The speeches, the ball, the meetings with everyone, all those responsibilities and this fight with Regina… You've all done it, even it was worrying you. You're perfect, the kingdom adores you, and we get that you want to get away from this for a bit."

"You know that we're here to protect the kingdom while you're gone, honey." Snow added, as Emma was looking at the both of them in awe, thinking that they really were amazing people. "Take these little vacations for as long as you want. We just want you all to be happy."

"So, we can go then?" Henry said, obviously overexcited by the news.

"Absolutely. It wouldn't be our place to refuse this, even if we didn't agree, but we think that it's a great idea. Go and have some fun. You need it." David said happily.

Emma felt Killian squeezing her hand a little bit tighter, as she was realizing that this was actually happening. They were going to live this dream, the three of them, after all this time. And she just couldn't wait, because she knew that these memories they were going to build would stay with them for the rest of eternity.

* * *

More than impatient to finally live these moments they'd been dreaming of for so long, they hadn't been able to wait before going away. So a week after the discussion they'd shared at the breakfast table, they were already ready to go, giving one last hug to Kate and Chiara as they were leaving the castle behind with the biggest smiles on their faces.

Snow and David had wanted to accompany them to the harbor and bid them goodbye there, helping to get the last bags of supplies into the hold of the ship. And they very quickly found themselves standing before the Jolly Roger, waiting to go on this wonderful adventure. Emma could feel her heart pounding in her chest at how excited she was, so much that it felt like it was going to burst.

Her happiness seemed endless on that moment.

Henry went to warmly hug Snow and David as Killian was wrapping his arm around her waist to hold her close. His smile hadn't left his lips once since they'd decided to take this trip, and it widened even more when he saw how close Henry was to his grandparents. If Emma still found it difficult to open up to them from time to time, because she'd thought that she was an orphan for her entire life, Henry had immediately got attached to the couple. He loved them unconditionally since day one, and they both absolutely adored him in return.

Killian winked at their son as he was coming back to his parents, still grinning from ear to ear. Emma raised her eyebrows in surprise and turned to silently question her boyfriend, because she couldn't quite get the mischievous look they were both sharing. He just answered her with a small smirk, and she sighed slightly, pretending to be annoyed even if she couldn't stop smiling completely.

Because she could tell that they were actually hiding something from her. She'd caught them talking in mysterious whispers several times, as if they didn't want to be heard. They'd always been incredibly close, but she could guess that they were up to something. They'd even both gone in town the day before, refusing to tell her what they were planning to do there and both looking happier than ever when they'd come back. She'd tried to ask Killian what was going on, but he'd answered every single one of her questions with a little kiss on the lips and a smile. She knew that all of this wasn't a bad thing, so she really wasn't worried. She just hoped that they would tell her what all of this was about someday soon.

As always, Killian didn't answer her quiet question and simply leaned to press a quick but tender peck on her lips, making her forget about everything else. The love she could read in his eyes each time he would look at her told her that everything was alright, and that he was just being the best father to Henry by sharing this secret thing with him. He even seemed more in love with her than ever, as the last events and the fact that she'd been in danger had brought them even closer. And with the weeks that they'd planned to spend together on the ship, she knew that they were going to strengthen this unbreakable bond even more.

Her parents approached her to hug her one last time, snapping her out of her thoughts. Snow seemed slightly sad to see them all go away for so long, because she would probably have wanted them to stay forever after finally finding them back, but she was also very obviously happy that they got to live these beautiful times as a family. So she simply told her daughter to take care of herself, as Emma was promising her that everything was going to be just fine.

David came to embrace her as well, cradling her head in a sweet gesture. She could somehow tell that he knew exactly what was going on with Killian and Henry, because he couldn't help but smile too, as if he were excited about something that she knew nothing about. She didn't try to know more though, and suddenly realized with surprise that five months had already gone by since she'd discovered that she had parents. Despite the fact that she was still a little bit distant with them, their relationship was getting stronger with each passing day, and it was making her very happy.

She liked her parents' company, her mother's gentleness and how safe her father always made her feel. And even if she still hadn't said it out loud, she had finally accepted the fact that she loved them too. One day, they were all going to be a beautiful, united family. She just had to give herself the space she needed to trust them completely first.

Snow went to Killian to hug him too, what made Emma smile widely. Her mother truly liked him, she could see that he was a good man and she was always so adorable with him. If the start of their relationship had been a bit tougher, David came to pat her boyfriend's shoulder, grinning as well. He then said something that she could not quite understand yet, his voice teasing even if everyone could tell that he wasn't completely joking.

"Take good care of them."

"Emma and Henry are my entire world." Killian answered seriously, as if he knew exactly what the King was talking about. "I'd die before I let anything happen to them."

"I know." David just smiled, obviously happy with this answer.

Emma chose not to ask herself too many questions about this strange comment. They were just going away for a few weeks and her father knew that she could take care of herself, but she just shrugged and they were finally ready to go. After a couple of minutes and a few last words to the royal couple, they found themselves on this ship that had seen them grow, fall in love and become a family. Their home. And she couldn't have been more excited to find her again after all this time.

Her boyfriend got everything ready for departure, helped by Henry who was very skilled in navigation now, thanks to all their moments spent together. Killian then went to stand at the helm as Emma and her son were waving at Snow and David, and they sailed away until the couple became two tiny figures standing on the harbor. She couldn't believe that she was finally living this, and she took a moment to look at the blue immensity that was surrounding them, a huge smile she couldn't erase on her face.

After a few seconds, she went to join Killian at the helm, as Henry was staying near the handrail to look at the water, happy to find the ocean back after all this time. She suddenly realized that a year had already passed since they'd come to this region for the very first time. They had no idea that this decision was going to change everything back then, and she grinned at how happy they all were now. She wrapped her arms around her boyfriend from behind, dropping a kiss to the back of his neck and murmuring to his ear.

"It's almost like we went back in time."

"Except that this time, we're safe." He replied in a low voice.

He turned in her arms to face her, and caught her lips for a passionate kiss that told her just how amazing this trip was going to be.

* * *

Everything was going so incredibly well that Emma could hardly believe that this wasn't a dream sometimes. They would sail for hours on the ocean, just the three of them, the sky and the sea, and would stop every other day in a harbor to go visit the little villages or bigger towns there. They would explore their surroundings all together, simply sharing jokes and tender moments. Some of the citizens would recognize them, and would always be incredibly welcoming with the family. They were meeting new people and building amazing memories. This was all absolutely perfect.

Killian and Henry would spend a lot of time together as well. Her boyfriend would teach their son some of the things he didn't know yet about navigation, and the little boy soon became as good as his father at recognizing the stars in the sky. They were so close that it was impossible not to smile when looking at them. Blood didn't make family, love did and Killian had been the best dad for Henry since day one. Emma was so proud that her little boy could look up to such a wonderful role model, and she could have watched them simply talking together for hours.

She would sometimes join them at the helm, but more often than not, she would hold a bit back until Killian called her to come and be with them. She knew that he was probably wondering why she wasn't coming to spend time with them, but she wouldn't answer any of his questions, simply kissing him as a response. The truth was, she didn't want to break their little bubble of happiness, and she wanted to leave them a bit of time to simply be together and develop this incredible relationship between a father and a son.

They hadn't stopped sharing these secret conversations each time they thought that she wasn't listening, and they would exchange looks and smiles that she just couldn't understand. She chose not to pay any attention to this though, because if it was making them grin that widely, it had to be a wonderful thing. And she didn't really want to know, if they didn't wish to tell her what this was all about. They were happy, and that was all that mattered to her.

One afternoon, she found them both discussing in low voices in the captain's quarters, as she'd gone up on deck to look at the ocean for a bit. They got quiet as soon as they heard her coming back, and Killian stood up to hug her, while Henry seemed even more excited than he usually was since the beginning of the trip. A bit intrigued by their behaviors that seemed to get weirder and weirder, she joked about it with Killian that same night, as he'd asked her why she hadn't come to join them at the helm earlier. With a smile in her voice, she said :

"Because I didn't want to interrupt another one of your secret conversations. Seriously though, if you go on that way, I'll start thinking that you're hiding things for me and get upset."

She was very obviously joking, because she was so glad that they could share things that were just theirs. But Killian seemed to take her seriously, and he lost his smile to look at her in worry. She was sitting on their bed as he was getting ready for the night on the other side of the room, and he immediately came to join her, reaching for her hand to help her stand up. Keeping her fingers between his, he brought her close to kiss her forehead and said against her skin.

"Gods, Swan, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were feeling that way..."

"I'm not." She cut him off, concerned by his reaction. "Killian, I was just kidding."

"No, I can see that you don't come to join us as often as you used to. Bloody hell, I should have realized this way sooner. These are family vacations, love, we should spend all of our time together. You'll never interrupt us in anything. We love you so, so much. I never want you to feel like you can't come and spend time with us because you're scared to interfere..."

"Babe, I'm not scared." She replied, looking straight into his eyes to make him understand that she was serious this time. "I'm so happy to see that you and Henry always get along so well. I'll never, ever feel bad about that, and I know that I can come to you at any time. It's my choice to leave the two of you be sometimes, because I think that your relationship is the most beautiful thing."

He seemed to feel a little bit comforted by her words, and he brought her closer for a hug, resting his chin on the top of her head to hold her tight. She snuggled against him with a little smile, still amazed by how much this man cared about her. She let go of a small sigh, stroking his back to try and convince him that she really was alright and that she wasn't upset at all. Finally, after a minute, he said in a whisper :

"I just don't ever want you to feel alone, my darling. You'll never be again. You're the love of my life, and I just want you to be happy forever."

"You make me happy." She smiled. "So don't worry about that. As long as we have each other, we'll be more than fine, always."

His statement had made her heart beat faster in her chest at how incredibly touched she was. She didn't even know what to tell him to make him see how much she loved him anymore. So instead, she looked up and caught his lips, and he answered by bringing her to their bed and kissing every inch of her skin, murmuring his love for her again and again as she was sighing, her face buried in the crook of his neck.

The next day, they arrived in a small harbor and decided to go and visit the towns or villages that were probably around. But as Emma was about to go down the boarding ramp with her two boys by her side, as always, Killian came to talk to her with a little mysterious smile that truly surprised her. She knew that he was about to tell her something important, and he kissed her forehead before stating gently.

"I think that I'll stay on the ship, today."

"What?" She asked, a bit disappointed that he didn't want to come and explore everything with them. "Why?"

"I have things to do." He said vaguely

"What kind of things?" She insisted, a bit concerned by the nervousness she could hear in the tone of his voice.

"Don't worry about me." He replied without answering her question, but she was determined to know more. This was definitely very strange, and she just hoped that he was alright.

"Killian, what's going on?"

He shared a look with Henry instead of saying anything right away, and she noticed that their son didn't seem surprised at all by his father's words, as if he knew exactly what was happening. He was smiling widely and he took her hand, trying to bring her with him and go down the boarding ramp so she would stop asking questions. She didn't let him lead her away though, and she gently freed herself from his grip to turn back to her boyfriend and insist again, showing him that she wouldn't accept another silence and really wanted to know this time.

"Babe?"

"Nothing bad is going on, love." He then assured, even if he was still looking a bit anxious. "And it will allow you to spend some time with Henry, isn't it great?"

"Yeah, Mom, it's going to be awesome!" The little boy encouraged her with enthusiasm.

"Killian." She continued anyway, cupping his cheek to look into his eyes. "You would tell me if something was wrong, right?"

"Hey, Emma, everything is more than fine." He said more seriously, worried by her last words.

"Promise?" She asked, even if she could tell that he really was telling the truth.

"Promise." He nodded, then approached her to gently kiss her lips. "I love you, Swan."

"I love you, too." She said with a small smile, finally reassured.

Knowing that he wouldn't change his mind anyway, she ended up leaving the ship with Henry by her side, as her son seemed happier than he'd ever been. Somehow, she could tell that this wasn't all about the exploration of the town they were entering. And she guessed that this had probably something to do with the conversations he was having with his father for days now. She then decided to stop worrying and enjoy the afternoon instead, because she would most probably know what was really going on soon enough.

Her son brought her to every corner of the city, marveling at the landscapes surrounding them, and Emma had the strange feeling that he was trying to keep her busy. Even if she was now convinced that what was happening with her boyfriend wasn't bad, she grabbed his hand to stop him as he was about to run to a shop and look at what was displayed inside the window. A little bit teasing, she placed one hand on her hip and asked.

"I'm not naive, kiddo. What are your father and you up to?"

"Nothing at all, Mom." He said, opening his eyes wide in fake surprise, but his lie wasn't really convincing as he couldn't help but smile.

"Henry, I know you for eleven years. I know when you're hiding something. So, what's up?"

He sighed, as if giving up on the idea of pretending that everything was just normal. He bit his lower lip and finally shrugged, his eyes shining with pure joy. Looking straight at her, he finally stated.

"It's a surprise."

And then, before she could ask him another question, he freed himself from her gentle grip and suddenly changed the subject. Despite all her tries to know more about all of this, she was unable to learn what was really going on with her boys.

* * *

It's only much later, as the sun had set in the sky and the streets were slowly becoming less animated, that she finally got answers about what was going on. Henry, who had insisted on keeping her far from the ship for the entire day, suddenly refused for her to look at a shop window. He grabbed her hand and tried to bring her with him until she finally accepted to follow him, amused.

"Come on, Mom!" He laughed as she was pretending to protest. "It's time to go!"

She wondered what the hell was happening and simply shook her head, not even bothering to ask him questions because she knew that he wouldn't answer anyway. And she would know sooner than later, she could tell. Henry had told her that this was a surprise, but she wasn't one bit worried about it. She knew that Killian would never do anything that wouldn't please her, because he knew her so well. So she was pretty intrigued and excited as she was following her son, until he stopped at once in front of the Jolly Roger. He looked at her, giggling in happiness, and finally stepped aside to let her see what was awaiting for her there.

Killian was standing before the boarding ramp, wearing clothes that resembled those he'd put on for her very first ball. He was smiling, even if she could see how nervous he actually was, and she grinned back as she was moving to approach him, truly touched by how romantic all of this was. He took her hand and brought it to his lips to press a tender kiss on her knuckles and he said with a wink.

"Welcome on board, my darling."

This small touch wasn't enough for her though, so she tugged him closer to reach his lips, what made Henry laugh behind them. She didn't know anything about what was going to happen now, but she could already tell that she was going to like it a lot. Their son started to go up the boarding ramp then, as Killian was gently leading her to do the same. She watched their little boy going to stand behind the helm with a deeply focused expression on his face, and she turned to her boyfriend as he was still holding her hand to ask with a smile :

"What is he doing?"

"That's part of the surprise." Killian simply grinned. "The lad and I have planned everything. He's going to bring the ship away from the harbor, so we don't get interrupted. And then we can finally start, my love."

She was about to ask him what was this mysterious thing that they could start, but she didn't have the time to do so. They were up on deck now, and she looked away from her son to discover what was installed there, and her mouth gaped open at the sight.

There was now a table and two chairs settled before her, as if they'd been there all along. It was covered with a red tablecloth and it was set for two, one rose placed in between the plates and a couple of candles surrounding it, their flames dancing in the darkness of the night. Speechless, she turned to Killian as he was making sure that Henry was doing okay to get the ship out of the harbor, and she stuttered :

"What is that?"

"Dinner for two, lass." He answered, chuckling at her stunned expression. "You deserve this little treat."

"So, that's what you've been plotting for days?" She asked, finally understanding everything. She was so surprised that she didn't even notice the fact that Killian didn't answer her question. "Why is there only two plates, though? Isn't Henry eating with us?"

"Don't worry about me!" The little boy said, as he'd obviously listened to their conversation. "I have everything I need in my room. Tonight is all about you and Dad."

"The lad is right." Killian replied with a little smirk. "So, darling, what do you say? Would you go on a date with me?"

"I'd love to." She answered, feeling her heart fluttering at how perfect this all was. She looked at the scene, then down at her clothes, adding with a little sigh. "I'm so not dressed for this, though."

Compared to Killian's formal clothes, her red tunic and usual leather pants weren't really that impressive. He'd done everything for them to spend a romantic evening under the moonlight, and she regretted the fact that she hadn't been able to put on her favorite dress, because she could tell that this night would be one to remember.

Killian just shook his head and kissed her forehead, saying gently "You look stunning, my Swan. As always."

He smiled at her and the ship left the harbor, navigated by a very skilled Henry. She blushed slightly because of all these compliments and this amazing surprise, and Killian took her hand to lead her to one of the chairs. He pulled it for her, what made her grin widely at how thoughtful he always was, and he kissed the top of her head, saying in a whisper. "I'll be right back with the food."

Emma looked at the waves gently rocking the ship, feeling so happy and peaceful as Killian was coming back with their meal. He helped Henry to drop the anchor, then winked at him as the little boy was still smiling from ear to ear. He wished them a good night and disappeared into his room, leaving them alone on deck to share their dinner. Her boyfriend settled in front of her and they began to eat, joking, laughing and being so in love it was almost surreal as she couldn't believe how amazing this man was. He really would have done anything for her to be happy, and this little date was truly touching her soul.

He'd obviously spent a very long time planning this, she realized as the night was going on. He'd probably gone to get the food he needed at the marketplace while Henry and her were in town, to be able to cook all her favorite meals. He poured them wine and offered her cake, and her smile never left her face once.

This was absolutely perfect, even if she could still feel this nervousness in him, as if he were worried about something. She couldn't quite explain it because they were having a wonderful time, and he had no reason to be anxious at all. So she didn't say anything but tried to quietly relax him instead, enjoying these few hours with this incredible man she loved so damn much.

She only understood the origin of his stress at the end of the meal. She was able to grasp the reason why Henry had been so happy for days at the same time, and all these secrets conversations that he'd shared with his father about this thing that she still knew nothing about.

As their plates were empty and as they were continuing to drink and talk, he suddenly interlaced his fingers with hers from above the table. His eyes were shining with a bit of concern, but he was smiling at the same time and she understood that everything was actually okay when he offered her an excited grin. She didn't ask him one question and let him take the time he wanted before speaking, looking straight into his eyes with a small smile.

"Alright, my love. I actually have prepared this surprise for a very particular reason."

"Hey." She said, realizing that he was still a little bit nervous and just wanting to relax him. "You can tell me anything."

"I know." He laughed slightly. "It's just important, so I need you to promise me that you'll listen to me until the end, aye?"

"Promise." She said immediately, even if she was starting to feel very intrigued about this all thing. "I'm all ears."

He smiled at her as an answer, and she saw him taking a deep breath. It was a bit strange to see him this anxious while he was usually so calm and composed, reassuring everyone before taking care of himself. So she returned his grin and gently stroked his hand with her thumb, silently encouraging him. He ended up finally starting to speak, his voice a bit unsure but his gaze shining deeply as he was staring at her. The stars and the moon made his eyes look even more blue than they usually were, and she couldn't help but find him absolutely gorgeous.

"Emma, what I wanted to tell you tonight is how much you mean to me. I know I tell you that I love you every single day, but it doesn't even feel powerful enough to explain how I feel anymore. You're it, Swan. When I look at you, I see my entire world and I feel like I fall in love with you a bit more with each passing second. You found me, years ago now, and you helped me to become a better man. You showed me the way and I'm the best version of myself when I'm with you, while I was just a broken man seeking his revenge back then."

It made her smile, and if she didn't know the reason why he was telling her all those beautiful things now, she kept on listening intently as he was going on. "I fell in love with you the very first time I saw you in this tavern. This kindness that I could read behind those walls when we first talked. Your incredible strength and determination, your beautiful eyes that seemed to see right through me. I felt like a new man, and you gave me hope that I could be happy again. You gave me a son, a family when I had nothing, and you showed me that I could survive this pain that I had been through, because we had each other, finally. You're so perfect that I can hardly believe it sometimes. You've survived so many things, and yet you've never even thought about hurting anyone for it, because you have the biggest, most amazing heart I know. Sometimes, I can't help but think that I don't deserve you."

Tears of emotion had appeared in her eyes and she was trying not to start crying while listening to his speech. But when she heard his last sentence, she suddenly forgot the promise she'd made to let him talk until the end, because she just couldn't let him say those things about himself.

"Please, don't say that." She replied then. "You deserve the entire world. You're a wonderful man, Killian. And we're meant to be together."

"You promised to let me finish." He said, trying to seem falsely mad, but he was grinning because of her answer.

"Sorry." She answered, chuckling slightly. "I just couldn't help it. Because you're perfect, and I just want you to see that too."

"There's nothing to forgive, my Swan. Will you allow me to continue, though?" She nodded and he resumed, looking a bit less worried now that he was saying all those things out loud. "As you just said it, we belong together. You're my everything, darling. You're the woman I love, my soulmate and my best friend. I'm lost without you, and you gave me everything I've ever hoped for just by being there by my side. Sometimes, I doubt that an angel like you even exists. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, because I love you more than I could eve say. So..."

She actually understood what he wanted to do before he even pulled his hand away from hers to search for something in the pocket of his leather coat. She kept on staring at him, feeling like her heart was going to explode. Knowing exactly what was happening now, she wasn't surprised when he knelt before her to open the little velvet box he was now holding with the tip of his hook. Her eyes, now completely filled with tears, met the brightness of the ring that was inside of it, and they looked at each other in silence for a while, feeling like they were all alone in the world as they were living this very important moment.

She could finally understand everything that had been going on for weeks, now. She knew that he'd planned this all thing with Henry, and that this was the reason why their son was so excited. She could also grasp her father's behavior, since Killian had very probably asked for his permission before doing anything, respecting the traditions of this world. And she knew her answer before he'd even had the chance to ask the question. She placed her hand over her heart and one tear of joy rolled down her cheek as he was finally saying, his voice muffled by his own emotion.

"Emma Swan, will you marry me?"

They'd never talked about getting married before, and this was definitely a surprise, but her answer was completely obvious. She wanted to spend the rest of eternity with this incredible man, and she felt like she would never stop crying from happiness. She then knelt on the floor too in order to be with him there, and she took his face between both her hands to look at him carefully. He was crying as well, and it's with sobs in her voice that she answered.

"Yes, Killian. Yes."

She repeated this little word several times against his lips as they were kissing and laughing at the same time, trying to get as close as they possibly could to each other. She could feel his own heart beating fast in his chest, and she understood this nervousness that she'd felt in him before. He'd been scared that she would be too surprised and wouldn't give him an answer right away, but she wanted this so much. She wanted to tell the all world just how in love they were. She wanted him, always and forever. And she felt like her heart was going to burst as she was holding this man that was her entire world.

They finally stopped their kisses after a little while to share an intense embrace, him kissing her neck as she was giggling through her tears. After a minute, he pulled away from her to put the ring on her finger, and she looked at the jewel in awe for a moment, not believing that they were really living this now. She was going to marry the man that was making her the happiest she'd ever been, and she knew that their future would be bright. She just couldn't wait to live it by his side.

He stood up then, reaching for her hand so she could do the same, and he caught her lips again, his hand spread wide in her back as if he wanted to hold as much of her as he possibly could. They kissed and kissed and he lifted her up from the ground to get her even closer, murmuring against her mouth just how much he loved her.

An image suddenly appeared in the back of her mind as her feet weren't touching the ground anymore, and she smiled. In her imagination, Killian and her were standing at the altar, him in a black suit and her in a white dress. They were looking into each other's eyes as if nothing existed around them anymore. And there, they promised to love each other for the rest of eternity, because even death couldn't break them apart. Their love was just too powerful.

* * *

"So?" Henry asked enthusiastically when he saw his parents entering his room. "How did it go?"

Emma sniffed discreetly and wiped off the tears that were wetting her cheeks, still holding Killian's hand. She couldn't help but smile, and her heart was still pounding so fast in her chest. After kissing for what had seemed like an eternity under the moonlight, they had both stayed forehead against forehead for a while, just enjoying the other's touch and their amazing happiness. They couldn't quite believe what was going to happen now, because it was just too good. They were going to get married. And she felt like she was in heaven.

After pulling away, they'd both decided to directly go tell their son the news. Killian had said that Henry had been the very first person to know about this idea, to make sure that the little boy was okay with his plan. He never wanted to make their son miserable, but he had been thrilled to know that his parents were finally going to be husband and wife after all this time. He still seemed like the happiest kid now that they were standing before him, his eyes shining with eagerness to know more.

They didn't say anything at first and just chuckled at his reaction. Then they shared a look, Emma's heart skipping a beat, and still not saying a word, Killian gently lifted her left hand to show Henry the ring on her finger, the diamond bright under the candlelight. Their son looked like he was about to start bouncing up and down in excitement, but he still asked, as if to make sure that he was right.

"You said yes?"

"Of course I said yes." Emma answered, wrapping her arm around Killian to hold him close, and he kissed the top of her head. "We're getting married."

Henry let go of a huge cry of joy that made his parents laugh, and he came to hug them both, telling them just how happy he was about this upcoming ceremony. Emma was still half crying when her son brought them to his bed so they could all settle on it, just like they used to do when they were still living on the ship, spending hours simply talking together, lost in their amazing little world.

Emma still couldn't fully believe what had just happened. She couldn't wrap her head around the fact that she was lucky enough to be able to marry the love of her life. Her, the little orphan, the lost girl who had once thought that she would never be loved, she'd found happiness. She now had a wonderful son, parents that loved her and a future husband that looked at her like she'd just brought him the moon. Her life had changed so much, and it was all because of this incredible man who had shown her that she really was enough.

It was not that she had ever doubted that they would spend the rest of their lives together. She'd known that he was it as soon as they'd become friends, even if she hadn't wanted to admit it to herself back then. But this proposal was making everything so real, and it was something she'd never thought she could have. She was so happy to know that fifty years form this moment, she would still wake up in the arms of this man that she loved so much, and would have the chance to fall a bit more in love with him with each passing day.

"Do you like the ring?" Henry asked, smiling up at her.

"I love it." She said, raising her left hand a bit to be able to look at the jewel. "It's gorgeous."

The diamond was discreet but so beautiful, catching all the lights around to seem even brighter than it already was. She ran one finger along the ring and felt tears in her eyes again. This was the symbol of their love for each other, and she swore that she would cherish it until the end of time. Killian wrapped his arm around her waist and brought her closer, kissing her temple in a sweet gesture that made her smile again. He hadn't let go of her since she'd said yes, as if he couldn't believe this himself. Glancing at him, she thought that he looked like the happiest man on earth, and she rested her head on his shoulder, sighing in pure bliss.

"I helped Dad to choose it." Henry stated happily.

"Oh, that's why you both went to the city before we left the castle." She finally understood with a smile. "For how long were you planning this all thing?"

"A little while." Killian admitted softly. "I always knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, and I had the idea of asking you to marry me for a few weeks, but so many things happened and we didn't really have the time to do anything. But then you talked about this trip, and I knew that this was the perfect moment. We are living our dream, you know? So I talked to Henry and we both tried to find the best way to do it."

"It really was perfect." Emma whispered, and she looked up to press a kiss on his lips, smiling through it. "Thank you. This moment will stay with me forever."

"You know that Dad used the money you both earned by working in the black market, to buy the ring?" Henry said, what seemed to make Killian vaguely uncomfortable.

"Really?" Emma asked, surprised that her boyfriend hadn't taken the money from the purse her parents had given them. "Why?"

"Because that was the right thing to do." Killian replied as if it were the obvious. "I didn't want your parents to buy this, so I couldn't take their money for it. I needed to offer you a real engagement ring myself."

She smiled and kissed him once again, finding the gesture so sweet her heart skipped another beat. After a minute, she finally said, still grinning widely. "I still wonder how Snow and David are going to react to this."

"Well, your father already knows." Killian admitted, as she'd already guessed it before. "I wanted to ask for his opinion first, and he was really happy. He gave me his blessing without questioning my idea. Snow doesn't know yet, though."

"She'll be so thrilled." Henry nodded. "I can't wait to see her reaction when we'll tell her!"

"You're right, kiddo, she'll be delighted." Emma agreed. "They both love you, Killian. They can see that you make us very happy."

"You're the ones that make me happy." Killian replied, hugging both his son and future wife as they were all still in awe of how perfect their life together was.

They spent a long time simply talking after that, until Henry had finally fallen asleep. They tucked him into bed and looked at each other for a minute, knowing exactly what was going to happen now. They were barely out of their son's room when they started to kiss again, so passionately that they could barely breathe anymore. But none of them cared. They just wanted each other and he led her to the captain's quarters, where he laid her down on the bed and looked at her like she was the most perfect woman in the world.

There, in the room that had seen their relationship grow, he whispered that he loved her again and again against her skin as they were making love. They didn't fall asleep that night, spending hours celebrating their engagement. The sky grew gradually clearer until the sunlight was enlightening Killian's naked skin, and she finally closed her eyes then, lying down on top of him because they just didn't want to let go.

The next day, when they finally got up, they talked with their son about this party that they were going to throw to yell their love to the entire world. Killian told her that he was the luckiest man on earth to have her as a future wife, and they didn't leave each other once as they were planning everything that they'd ever wished for.

The scars of her stolen childhood were still there in her heart, but they were slowly healing one by one as she was loving this man and he was doing the same in return. His sweet words and endless love were proving her that she was enough, and was going to be happy. With Killian and Henry by her side and no matter what life would throw her way, she would always be.

* * *

The rest of the trip happened just like a dream. The three of them were so delighted that it seemed surreal sometimes. They would spend hours talking about the upcoming wedding, their smiles never leaving them as they were going out to explore their surroundings. Emma would never wear her ring when she was out of the safety of the ship, because they didn't want anyone to hear that they were getting married before they told the people at the castle about it. But her engagement ring stayed in her pocket and accompanied her everywhere, and she could have spent hours simply looking at it when she was away from prying eyes.

At night, Killian would kiss her hand and ring finger over and over again, as if he still couldn't believe that they really were doing this. They were going to be husband and wife. And she would tell him that he was her everything, realizing that they were more in love that they'd ever been. Nothing could ever break them.

They would walk in the streets of the towns and villages hand in hand, never leaving each other anymore and with this beautiful certitude that they would be together until the end of time. Maybe for the very first time in their lives and despite the threat Regina was representing, they were completely sure that their future would be bright. They had a son that they would raise together, and they would watch him grow into a wonderful and caring young man. They would never have to be afraid of starving or dying in the streets again. And they would love each other, even beyond death, because what they felt was stronger than anything else in the world.

He would promise this to her when he would kiss every inch of her body at night. He would swear that they were going to be happy and would stay together, always. He would tell her that she was his world and that he loved her so much it was making everything seem small compared to it.

And when she looked into his eyes, she could see what their life together would be like. Trust, support, love beyond words. And she just couldn't wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so excited about this new storyline, and about the wedding that is coming! What do you think about it? Also, I won't be able to update for about 10 days, but I promise I will as soon as I possibly can! :)


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys, so I promised to update as soon as I possibly could and here I am! This is a very romantic chapter, I hope you'll like it!

The Jolly Roger came back to what was now their kingdom exactly three weeks after they'd left in the first place.

The trip had gone by so fast, way too fast in Emma's opinion, if she was being honest. Even if she was genuinely glad to see her parents again, she would have wanted for these moments with her family to last forever. She knew that she was going to miss everything about this journey that they'd taken together. Their endless walks, their evenings just the three of them, their conversations that seemed to never want to end. She'd been so happy during these few weeks, and she wished for joy like this forever with her two boys by her side.

They'd promised each other that they would do this once a year from now on though, and she was a bit comforted by the idea. They wanted to live this amazing feeling of all being so connected more often, and she just couldn't wait. She was feeling so lucky to be able to live her life beside these wonderful people that were making her smile so big her heart felt fit to burst sometimes.

She would still often look down at the ring shining on her finger and hardly believe that this was real, because this was just too good. The diamond was beaming in the sunlight as she was standing on deck, and she could have stared at it for the rest of eternity. Since Killian's proposal, they both seemed even more in love than ever, and she realized with pure bliss that the depth of their feelings for each other really was endless. They would talk about this upcoming ceremony for hours with Henry, trying to plan every little details because they were just too excited about finally becoming husband and wife.

They weren't nervous about telling Snow that they were engaged, now. They knew that David hadn't told her anything yet, he'd promised Killian that he would keep the secret, and if her father had accepted this without asking one question, her mother would be delighted as well. The Queen knew that her daughter's soon-to-be husband was making her and Henry so happy, and Emma could tell that she wasn't going to panic at the news. She was on the contrary going to be so thrilled about planning this wedding with all of them.

Knowing that this was a very important moment, they'd decided to divulge everything to her mother at dinner. They'd chosen a moment where they were all reunited, and Emma was very impatient to see her reaction. This entire plan was so perfect, and she couldn't help but smile, imagining how happy Snow was going to be when she would finally learn what was going on.

Except that they didn't have the time to announce anything.

Emma had decided to take her engagement ring off right before crossing the palace gates. She knew that they wouldn't meet anyone in the streets so early in the morning, and she really didn't want to part from the jewel. She liked the touch of it against her skin, because it was a promise that she would never have the be separated from Killian again, no matter what. He would also lightly caress her finger every time they would hold hand, and this sweet gesture would make her weak at the knees. So she didn't want to hide it until she really needed to. And she couldn't wait to wear it for the rest of her life when her mother would finally know everything about it.

Too caught up in their amazing happiness, they however didn't notice the two figures that were already awaiting for them near the harbor.

They only fully realized that Snow and David had come to welcome them when they found themselves standing in front of the royal couple. Emma didn't have the time to take her ring off discreetly, and to be perfectly honest, she didn't even think about doing so. She was too surprised to see them both there. They'd told them that they were supposed to come back that day, but her parents weren't aware of the exact time and she absently wondered if they'd planned on staying there for hours, simply waiting for them to arrive.

She was in her mother's arms less than a second after realizing what was really happening. After a moment of surprise, she smiled happily, actually quite glad to find her parents back. She'd really grown to like their company, and she hugged Snow back as Henry was coming to greet David with a hug of his own. After saying hi to her father as well, she went back to her boyfriend with a grin, taking his hand in hers again and sharing a look with him.

"What are you doing here?" She asked cheerfully, even if she was pretty happy that they'd come, because she was finding the gesture very sweet. "We thought that you would wait for us at the castle."

"Let's say that we knew you were supposed to come back today, and we wanted to welcome you properly. We missed you." Snow said with a little shrug, but her eyes were shining with pure happiness now that they were back. It was as if she'd been worried that she'd lost them all over again, and she seemed so relieved now that they were back by her side.

"But you didn't know when we would get here." Emma insisted, trying to understand the logic behind their idea.

"Let's say that we'd planned on waiting here for a little while." David answered vaguely. "But we don't have to, since you're already here."

These words made Emma smile even more, as she was so amazed once again by how much her parents loved them. They were slowly becoming a real family, she could see it now, and she wasn't afraid at all anymore. She was happy to be back with them, even if she was going to miss these moments alone with her two boys terribly. Leaving this palace to go live their lives on their own seemed impossible now, because it was slowly becoming to feel like home to her and her family.

After looking at Killian for another second because she just could never get enough of him, she opened her mouth to change the subject and ask her parents how everything had gone during their absence. She wanted to know if the kingdom was alright and if Regina was still hiding, or if she'd decided to strike while they weren't there. She could somehow already guess the answer to her questions, because Snow and David both looked relaxed and happy, which obviously meant that they were safe. Emma knew that Regina hadn't given up on the idea of making them suffer, but she wanted to believe in this possibility, deep down. She just wanted to be able to enjoy her family without having to worry about anything else.

"And what about you? How did everything go, while…?"

She didn't have the time to finish her sentence, and got interrupted by the high-pitched cry of joy Snow let go of. She startled and turned at once to look behind her, worried that something in her back had scared her mother and that Regina could be attacking them again. She only realized then how ready she actually was to defend herself as soon as she believed that there was a danger. That was a good thing, she absently thought. At least she was ready for anything, thanks to all these lessons she was taking.

She'd placed her hand on her dagger, but there was nothing else behind her shoulder than the blue immensity of the ocean. Everything was obviously calm and peaceful, so she turned back to her mother to ask her what had made her react so strangely. But once again, Snow didn't give her the time to say anything. Emma had let go of Killian's hand to be able to take her weapon, and Snow suddenly grabbed her fingers, her eyes widened in awe. The morning sun was enlightening the ring she was wearing, and it was quite impossible to miss the brightness of the gorgeous jewel.

Her mother was now looking at the diamond on her ring finger like it was a gift from the gods. Her gaze was going from Emma's face to her hand, as if she just couldn't believe what she was seeing, and it made her daughter chuckle slightly. This wasn't how they'd planned to tell her about the news, but her reaction really was amazing.

Emma turned to her future husband to see him scratching the back of his ear, looking a bit embarrassed as if he were scared that Snow wouldn't approve of their union. It was however quite clear that the Queen was already delighted by what she'd just discovered, and she started to stutter after a few seconds of silence, making David laugh in her back as he knew exactly what was going on.

"What is… How did you..?" She seemed unable to form a complete sentence, what made Emma smile again at how amusing this all was.

"Well..." Killian started, his ears turning a bright red as he was awkwardly searching for the right way to tell her everything. "We wanted to announce it to you differently, but since you saw the ring already..."

"Mom and Dad are getting married!" Henry cried out then, as if he just couldn't hide the wonderful piece of information anymore.

Emma bit her lower lip, trying to stop herself from laughing. Henry seemed like the happiest little boy, and she internally thought that this situation was way better than what they'd planned at first. Her son was beaming as he'd been able to tell the news himself, and the moment was absolutely magical. Snow was still holding her hand, but was looking straight into her daughter's eyes now, as if to make sure that she'd heard correctly. There was a moment of quiet during which they all waited for her reaction, then she finally started to talk again with the biggest grin on her face.

"Emma! Killian! Oh gods, I cant' believe this! I'm so happy for you! You deserve this more than anyone. I was honestly starting to wonder when you would ask her for her hand, Killian, it's obvious that you two are meant to be together. So, tell me everything! How was it? Was it romantic? The ceremony is going to be so beautiful! Do you already know exactly when you want to get married? We can be ready whenever you want, we'll take care of everything. Everyone is going to be so excited for you!"

"Okay, that's a lot of questions." Emma laughed, not really knowing what to say after listening to her mother's speech. "We'll tell you everything later, I promise. But for now, maybe we should go back to the castle. We'll all be more comfortable in the library to talk about that, don't you think?"

"Oh, of course." Snow giggled, realizing that she'd gone a little bit too fast. "I'm sorry, honey, I'm just really happy for you. You belong together and you found happiness in each other, and I think that it's beautiful. You've both been through so much, and I can't even begin to tell you how glad I am that you met each other and that you built this amazing relationship. Killian," She added, turning to her future son-in-law. "You're perfect for Emma and Henry. They couldn't have wished for a better man. I'm thrilled to officially welcome you into the family."

Snow had let go of her daughter's hand, and Emma went to stand back beside her boyfriend, looking at him and deeply moved by her mother's words. Meeting the eyes of the man she loved, she realized just how touched he was as well. He seemed to be a bit speechless, but he offered Snow a small, somewhat shy smile and said, his voice deep and sincere.

"Thank you. It means a lot to me."

Snow grinned and turned to her husband, suddenly glancing at him and looking pretty intrigued. She was probably wondering why he was staying so silent, since she didn't know that he was already aware of Killian's decision. She gently nudged his shoulder and asked. "Don't you have anything to say about this?"

David laughed out loud and answered, wrapping his arm around Snow's waist. "I already knew."

"What?" She cried out, looking falsely outraged. "How come?"

"Well, Killian has asked me for my blessing, which I of course gave right away. So I knew about this since even before he asked Emma."

His wife kindly smacked his shoulder, what made everyone chuckle, and she replied. "And you didn't tell me anything?"

"I promised that I wouldn't. It wasn't my place to announce it to anyone."

"You're right" She finally agreed, a smile appearing on her face again and turning back to her daughter. "And I'm so happy for you."

"Me too." David added, coming to hug Emma, then kindly pat Killian's shoulder. "Congratulations, you two. And take good care of her, alright?" He said to his daughter's boyfriend, raising his eyebrows at him, even if Emma could see that there was no hint of threat in his words. He was just immensely delighted for them both, and it made her heart grow in her chest.

"I promise I will. Forever." Killian said. "Emma and Henry's happiness is all that matters to me."

"You found a good man, Emma." David stated then, grinning from ear to ear. "You'll be happy together."

"We already are." She answered, turning back to Killian and her smile still dancing on her lips.

They looked at each other for a few seconds, then she came to snuggle against her boyfriend's chest as he was kissing the top of her head. She was right. They were so happy and would continue to be, whatever life would try to put them through. They were together now, for the rest of eternity, and he was making every single one of her dreams come true. She was just so impatient to live every moment by his side. He was perfect, and their life together was as well. This was all she could ever have wished for.

* * *

The few days following their return to the castle became an endless series of questions to decide where, when and how to organize this upcoming ceremony. Killian and Emma had immediately decided that they wanted to get married as soon as possible. They didn't want to wait any longer, and they didn't really want a huge wedding anyway. A small little party with their son, family and closest friends was more than enough for them, who'd thought once upon a time that they would always be alone.

But Snow didn't agree with this at all.

She wanted her daughter's wedding to be perfect. She was imagining a beautiful ceremony, hundreds of guests, flowers everywhere and a feast for dinner. It was not that Emma didn't want that. She was actually happy to see how excited her mother was for them, and how impatient she seemed to officially welcome Killian into the family. But all of these preparations were exhausting, and she was feeling like this would never end. She seemed to always have to face another question on another detail that she'd never even thought about in her life.

She didn't know what she wanted to be served to the guests at dinner, as long as there was food. She didn't care about what kind of flowers they would display, as long as they were pretty. She had no idea if she wanted white or light pink tablecloths, because honestly, she didn't think that this had any kind of importance. But Snow made everything sound like it was a question of life or death, and even if Emma knew that it was just because she was so thrilled to be able to organize her daughter's wedding after thinking that she would never find her back, this was slowly driving her insane. She just wanted to get married. She didn't care how, because as long as she became Killian's wife, she would be perfectly happy.

She also knew what was actually hiding behind all of this excitement. Regina hadn't shown herself for several long weeks now, ever since Emma had taken her by surprise at the marketplace. It was beginning to worry her quite a bit, because she knew that it didn't mean the Evil Queen had surrendered, but that she was planning a huge thing to make them all suffer. And the news of the upcoming wedding had traveled all around the city already. The witch knew that if she wanted to hurt her, the best way to do it would be to ruin this magical moment between her and Killian, exactly like she'd done for her parents' ceremony.

Still, Emma was refusing to get scared and cancel everything. She wanted this, and she was going to take that risk. The wedding was thus planned, the invitations sent, and it was going to take place no matter what. But despite her incredible joy to marry the love of her life, she was truly anxious about the Evil Queen coming to attack them at this exact moment. She wanted this day to hold memories of pure happiness, and she was worried that it wouldn't be possible with the threat of Regina hanging above their heads. Their enemy obviously wanted them to feel safe before striking again, though, and Emma wasn't going to give her what she was waiting for. She would always be ready for a fight at any given moment.

She could still read in Snow's eyes that her mother was afraid her wedding would get ruined too, just like hers had been. And she was a bit confused by the mix of feelings constantly crashing inside her chest. Joy, excitement, pure happiness to marry the man she loved. But worry and fear that she wouldn't be able to really enjoy this moment, because of this villain that just couldn't leave them alone.

She opened up about her feelings to Killian, one evening as they were as always lying down in their bed, wrapped up in each other's arms. Their nights were more animated than ever since they'd decided to get married, as if they were trying to prove their love over and over again. She was sore in all the best ways and exhausted by her day, but she didn't want to fall asleep right away. That afternoon, she'd spent hours choosing every single tiny details about the ceremony, and she'd been so close to tell Snow to decide everything herself and let it be a surprise the day of the wedding, because she just couldn't take it anymore.

Despite how tired she was, she still wanted to talk about all those things she was feeling. Killian had already guessed her thoughts of course, she was an open book for him. He would even quite often come to gently wrap his arm around her waist, kissing her forehead and promising her that everything was going to be okay. He didn't need her to explain anything, but she really wanted to know what he was thinking about all of this as well. So, still snuggled against his chest, she asked in a low voice.

"Do you think that Regina's plan is to attack us at our wedding?"

He didn't answer anything right away, as if he were thinking about what to say, but he brought her a bit closer to him and she sighed against his skin. She was so grateful that he wasn't trying to immediately reassure her, but that he was going to give her his honest opinion about the situation. He never lied to her and she loved him so much for that.

"I really don't know, love." He finally admitted after a little while. "She's hiding for a long time, and she's probably waiting for the right moment to strike again. She could be thinking that our wedding is the perfect opportunity to do so."

"I'm scared that she'll ruin everything, just like she did with my parents." She confessed, and he leaned to press a little kiss on the top of her head.

"Whatever happens, Swan, she won't ruin anything. We won't let her. This moment is going to be ours and we'll be ready for her if she comes. She won't hurt anyone that we love. Nothing is going to happen to any of us, and this day is going to be absolutely perfect, just like we imagined it. Besides, I'm pretty sure that she's scared of you, given what happened the last time you met."

"Even if she was afraid of me, she could still be trying to take us by surprise." Emma sighed slightly. "I just want this moment to be perfect, because I know that we'll remember it decades from now, and I want to have good memories about this day. I want us to be carefree and live one of the best moments of our lives."

"It will be, my love. And every day is the best day of my life as long as I'm with you." He stated, what managed to make her smile. "I promise you that no one will spoil our big day. I won't let it."

Even if she knew that he couldn't completely know what was going to happen, his words and confidence truly reassured her. So she dropped a kiss to his collarbone and said with a smile in her voice. "You know what? You're right. I won't let her ruin anything. This is our time and it's going to be absolutely flawless."

It made him grin too and she moved to straddle him and press a bunch of little kisses down his neck, then stomach. With this little speech, he'd managed to make every single one of her fears fade away. This amazing, incredible man who was going to become her husband. And no one would ever be able to take that away from them.

If Regina did come, she was now convinced that they would be ready for her. She wouldn't attack, and she wouldn't hurt them, because they wouldn't let her do anything of the sort. Emma had her powers and she wouldn't allow the witch to get close to any of the people she loved. She was going to protect them no matter what. Their wedding would be the perfect ceremony, and she wasn't going to be afraid of this vengeful woman. She wasn't worth it.

All that mattered was Killian, her entire family and the fact that they were going to be really happy. Their war with Regina was far from being over and she knew it, but it could wait. They had a wedding to plan.

* * *

"Okay, honey" Snow started, standing in front of her daughter and looking slightly nervous. "I think I found a solution to our dress problem."

"I'm all ears." Emma nodded with a smile, encouraging her to continue.

She was pretty intrigued by this introduction, and really wanted to know more. Because they were both trying to find the perfect wedding dress for a few days already, helped by Kate and Chiara, but they hadn't agreed on anything yet. Nothing that she'd tried on had really pleased her, and if she didn't really care about some aspects of this ceremony, she felt like the gown she would wear to marry the love of her life was a really important matter. She really wanted to find the perfect one.

She had never really been interested in these kind of things before, she knew that there were so many more crucial things to care about, but this meant a lot to her. She wanted this day to be a special one, and she wanted the child in her to fulfill this dream she'd always had. Because if she had thought as a kid that she would never be loved, she'd dreamed about this moment too. She'd dreamed about being happy and finding someone that would finally respect and love her. And she'd always had a very particular image in mind while thinking about her dress, when she was trying to imagine a better life for herself so she wouldn't completely give up.

It'd always been a long white gown, with feathers falling around the skirt and a corset to make her look like a real princess. She'd sometimes even imagined wearing a tiara, just to be as pretty as the ladies she would see walking past her in the streets. She wanted to offer this to the child that had once thought that she would never be important enough to have this, and that would only picture this in her head to try not to cry herself to sleep at night.

But nothing she'd seen had come any close to this image that she had been keeping with her for so long. She was somehow feeling like she was never going to find what she was looking for, and deep down, she knew that it wasn't that bad. She just would have wanted to try and heal some scars of her broken childhood, that she was still carrying with her every single day of her life. But everything would be absolutely fine, as long as she married Killian. Nothing else really mattered that much.

Her mother's words were very intriguing though, to say the least. She was also a bit puzzled by the fact that Kate and Chiara weren't there with them this time. And her mother seemed a bit anxious, as if this was very important to her as well. So Emma patiently waited for her to continue, already smiling because she could tell that she was going to like what she was about to offer her.

Actually, since they'd started all these plans for the wedding, Emma had really grown so much closer to Snow and it was making her genuinely happy. If she'd managed to find a real balance with David as soon as he'd apologized to Killian for his behavior, things had always been a bit more complicated with her mother for several reasons.

She knew that it was all because she'd been very close to her before knowing that she was actually her daughter. The Queen had been her boss for months, and they had even become friends in some way. Everything had changed insanely fast between them, and it had been quite confusing. Their relationship since she'd discovered that she was the Princess had always been tender and sweet, but she'd never really opened up to her mother, as everything had always seemed so much easier with David. But this had changed now, and it seemed to make Snow so happy, as Emma was thrilled to finally feel like they were building a real, strong bond together.

Snow snapped her out of her thoughts when she finally continued, taking both her hands in hers. "Well… Maybe it's better if you come see by yourself."

She didn't wait for an answer and gently led her to the room Emma had occupied back when she was the assistant, and that had stayed empty ever since. Chiara was indeed coming back home every night, and no one needed the bedroom anymore. Still very intrigued, she needed a second to notice the mannequin that was placed against one of the walls, wearing a beautiful white dress. And she understood two incredible things at the exact same time.

Firstly, this dress was the one Snow had worn for her own wedding. It was obvious to Emma, since she'd seen paintings of this ceremony hundreds of times in Henry's books and knew them by heart. And secondly, she realized with surprise that this was the gown she'd always imagined in her mind. This was her own mother's wedding dress that she'd pictured in her head since she was a little girl.

This observation made her blink in surprise, because she'd never even thought about this possibility. Awestruck, she approached the dress that seemed to catch every light of the sunset to reverberate it through the room. It was absolutely gorgeous, even more in real life than in the books. The feathers of the skirt looked like it'd belonged to an angel in another life, and it was so pure Emma just stood there for a while in silence, as if it were a marvel she was discovering for the very first time.

And finally, she smiled. Snow was right. They'd found a solution to their dress problem at last.

"It's just an offer, you know." The Queen then said in her back, a bit worried by how quiet she was being. "I don't want you to feel forced to accept. I won't get upset if you refuse, I promise."

Emma suddenly understood the origin of her mother's nervousness. She was scared that this was too much for her. This was big, she needed to completely embrace her new position as her daughter to accept it, and Snow was afraid that she was going to push her away. But she didn't have to be worried at all, Emma thought, because she was more than happy to be offered this opportunity. This was absolutely, utterly perfect and she couldn't have wished for anything else.

So she turned back to the Queen and took her hands to look into her eyes, saying with a smile. "Snow, it would be an honor to wear your dress for my wedding. Thank you so much. You know, this is actually the gown I've been picturing in my head since I was a kid, even if it sounds strange. So I'm so happy, really."

Her mother let go of a sigh of relief, and she finally returned her smile. She seemed so delighted now, and she offered to call Chiara to help her get ready, but Emma kindly refused. In some strange way, she was feeling like this moment was hers and Snow's, and that no one else had their place in this room right now. They needed this to break the small distance that had settled between them, and she wanted to do this with her, because she was feeling closer to her than she'd ever been before. And she could tell at Snow's grin that she was feeling the exact same way, because she looked absolutely ecstatic. Finally, Emma felt ready to have a mother and take this leap of faith. And she couldn't help but smile at these thoughts.

With Snow's help, she only took a few minutes to put on the dress. The gown was fitting perfectly, the feathers floating around her legs and the corset stressing her waistline. Feeling like a real princess, maybe for the very first time, Emma looked at her reflection in the big mirror of the room. Her long blond locks were falling in light waves in her back, and she was actually pretty happy with what she was seeing.

"You look gorgeous." Snow said from behind her, and Emma turned to be able to look at her again.

"Thank you." She simply answered, feeling truly touched by the compliment. "For everything. It means so much."

"You know, Emma." Her mother continued, and she could tell that she was about to tell her something important at the tone of her voice. "I'm so happy to plan this ceremony for you and Killian. You should have known these kind of things since the day you were born, and I would have given anything to be able to see you grow up into the amazing woman that you are today. And now… I just want you to finally get what you truly deserve. And I'm so glad that you've chosen Killian to share your life with. He's been through a lot too, but he's a good man and a hero now. I can see how much he cares about you and Henry, and how much you love each other. And I couldn't be happier that you've found that kind of love."

"I'm happy too." Emma nodded seriously, then hesitated for a second before adding. "You know, I didn't even dare to dream about all of this as a child. I never thought that love was for me. But here I am now, loved and surrounded and, well… I think that I never told you this before, but I'm glad that I've found you. I'm glad to be here in this castle. Even if it isn't the life Killian and I had imagined for ourselves, we're happy with you. I know I don't always show it but… I'm really grateful to have you and David in my life. I hope you know that."

Emma stopped, feeling suddenly slightly dizzy. She wasn't used to making these kind of big speeches, especially not to her parents, and it was the very first time she was opening up to her mother like that. But she didn't regret it one bit. She needed to make Snow understand that, even if she was still distant sometimes, she truly cared about them. She'd simply felt like she had to say her feelings out loud for once.

The smile Snow offered her as an answer made her forget about every last doubts she could still have that she'd made the wrong choice by telling her this. She was beaming and Emma couldn't help but grin herself as her mother was looking at her with tears of emotion shining in her eyes. She approached her to take her in her arms, and she hugged her back for a few seconds. When the Queen pulled away, she placed her hands on Emma's shoulders and added, her voice shaking just a little bit.

"I promise you that your wedding is going to be perfect, honey. You and Killian deserve it more than anyone. No one, not even Regina, will be able to spoil it."

"I know. I was talking about it with Killian the other day." Emma admitted. "I was scared that she would come to destroy everything, but not anymore. We won't let her."

"Exactly." Snow agreed seriously. "No one will never ruin your happiness. Regina won't do to you what she's done to us. Everything is going to be just fine, we'll make sure of it."

Once again, Emma knew that her mother had no way of really knowing that her enemy wouldn't come to attack them, but she wasn't afraid anymore. Everything was going to be okay. She wouldn't accept things to be any other way.

* * *

"I can't believe that we'll be married in a few days, finally." Killian stated a bit absently.

"Mmm." Emma hummed, before adding teasingly. "There's no getting rid of me after this, captain. You're stuck with me for life."

"Like it's going to bother me." He replied, knowing all too well that she was joking. "I'm the happiest man on earth to be stuck with you, my Swan."

He turned to offer her a wink that made her laugh, and she smiled back at him. She was so incredibly happy. Three days from this night, the ceremony would finally take place and they would officially be husband and wife. Henry was overexcited, her parents were over the moon, but it was nothing compared to what they were both feeling. She just couldn't wait to marry him. And even her vague nervousness to do so in front of hundreds of prying eyes couldn't erase the amazing, endless happiness she was feeling at the idea of being with the love of her life forever.

She watched Killian as he was standing a few feet from her, lightly biting her lower lip. She was sitting on their bed, and she swore that she could have looked at him for hours. It was the middle of the night and the entire castle was asleep for a very long time. They'd just finished their very enjoyable activities, and he'd pulled away as she was protesting because she just would have wanted to stay in his arms for a bit longer, to go fetch the clothes that had landed on the floor during their moment. He'd given her her own nightgown, but she still hadn't put it on. She was way too busy staring at him for that.

He was putting on his pants, staying as always bare chest for the night. He knew how much she loved lying down on him and feeling the touch of his skin, and he would never wear a shirt to sleep. He didn't seem to notice that she was looking at him that way though, and she ran her tongue over her lips, her heart skipping a beat at the sight he was offering.

The muscles of his arms were visible as he was moving around, and he was so gorgeous she suddenly felt like the room had become really hot. A ray of moonlight was coming through the window to enlighten his jaw and face, and she thought that she could have jumped on him to kiss him again on that moment, even though they'd barely finished doing so a few minutes earlier.

A crazy idea suddenly came to her, out of nowhere. She caught it as it was crossing her mind, and thought about it for a while without saying anything out loud. She knew that this was insane, and she didn't know if it was coming from the impatience of marrying her soon-to-be husband, or the lust that was still burning inside of her. But it was there, and she didn't try to chase it away. And without thinking much about it because she wanted nothing more right now, she said.

"Killian?"

"Aye, love?" He answered, seeming a bit lost in his own thoughts.

"Marry me."

It made him turn in surprise, as he had obviously no idea of what she meant by that. He raised an eyebrow at her, looking like he was convinced that she was joking. But she wasn't, and she had to hold herself back from standing up and kissing him senseless to erase that smirk from his face.

"I thought that this was already settled, Swan." He laughed.

She didn't smile, deciding to follow her idea until the very end. It was completely mad, but she wanted this so much, she simply couldn't help herself. "No. I mean, right now. Tonight. Marry me."

He looked at her with wide eyes as he was finally realizing that she was being serious. She let a somewhat shy smile appear on her lips, understanding why he was so taken aback by her request. If she was being honest, she was pretty surprised too. But she just couldn't wait anymore, she wanted him so badly. She was also dreaming about a smaller ceremony deep down, even if she knew how happy Snow was to be able to throw this big party for them. She wished for them to simply get married with Henry and her parents by their side.

She just wanted this now.

And the more she thought about this, the more she started to tell herself that this actually wasn't that crazy after all. By offering this idea, they could actually have both. They could have a secret wedding, right now, just with the people they loved. And then they would have this huge ceremony with everyone, the one her mother was so happy about. Everybody would get what they wanted. This was perfect.

Killian came to sit down next to her on the bed, staring at her in disbelief. He still seemed to wonder where the hell this idea was coming from, and he ended up starting to talk again after a little while, knowing that she wasn't kidding at all, now.

"Don't you want this big ceremony anymore?"

"Of course, I do." She shrugged. "I just… I can't wait anymore. I thought that this could be a good thing, you know, to simply get married with our family right now. Henry, my parents, you and me. We don't need anything else. And if we do that, well… we're sure that Regina won't ruin anything in a few days, when we'll have the real ceremony. We'll already be married, so she won't be able to make us as miserable as she wishes to."

"I thought that you weren't worried about her coming to attack anymore." He stated gently, his head tilted as if he were trying to understand her thoughts.

"I'm not scared, but I know that she can still come. Why would we give her the opportunity to spoil this big day? We could have it all now, in secret, and not tell anyone about it. And we could do the exact same thing in three days, but with everyone being there to witness it this time. And Regina won't manage to hurt us, then."

"I understand." He nodded with a little smile. "It's a bit unexpected, though."

"This doesn't answer my question." She insisted, her stomach suddenly in knots, because maybe he was thinking that this was a terrible idea and didn't want to do this at all. "You know, if you think that this is not a good plan, we don't have to..."

He cut her off by catching her lips and kissing her passionately for a few amazing instants. Feeling him so close made her forget about the conversation they were having, as she was moaning against his mouth and running her fingers through his hair. They spent a very long time just kissing in their bed, as if he were trying to erase all her worries. When he pulled away, he gently cupped her cheek and she saw that he was actually beaming. His eyes were shining with so much joy that she knew what he was going to answer before he even said it out loud.

"I think that this is an amazing idea, my Swan. I'm merely surprised, but of course I want to do this, more than anything. I would marry you a thousand times if I could, no matter where or how. If we can get married twice in three days, I'm certainly not going to complain about it."

"Seriously?" She said, smiling so big her cheeks hurt a little bit.

"Of course. Let's do this. Let's get married." He nodded, gently taking her hand in his and looking like the happiest man on earth.

The few minutes that followed were a bit of a chaos as they were trying to decide on everything before really acting upon this plan. They chose to exchange their alliances already, and simply take them off when they would find themselves in public before the big ceremony. They wondered who would agree to marry them now, given the late hour, and decided to ask her parents if they knew anyone. And they just put on their night clothes to get out of their room and go talk to their loved ones, wanting to make sure that this was really happening before doing anything else.

They were like two little kids, overexcited by this new decision they'd taken and the adrenaline that was running through their veins. The first thing they needed to do was obviously going to wake their son up. He had to be the very first one to know and they wanted his opinion about this entire thing. They thus headed for his room, hand in hand and their hearts beating in unison at how incredibly happy they were.

They opened his door in silence in order not to risk startling him. He was fast asleep in his bed, looking so peaceful they both couldn't help but smile at the sight. They approached him, Emma feeling like she was floating above the ground because all of this really felt like a dream, and she leaned to gently stroke her son's shoulder.

"Hey, kiddo, wake up..."

"Mom?" He asked sleepily, blinking in confusion. "What's going on? Is something wrong?"

"Not at all, Henry, don't you worry." She reassured him immediately as he was sitting up in his bed and rubbing his eyes, yawning. "Your dad and I, we've just had an idea and we wanted to know what you thought about it."

In a few words, they explained everything. They told him that they wanted to get married that same night, because they just couldn't wait any longer. Hearing this, the little boy finally completely woke up and the biggest smile appeared on his face. He was beaming and looking as excited as they both were, and he stood up to start pacing in the room because he was just too happy to stay still.

"I'm sure that Grandma and Grandpa have a friend that could marry you right now. It'll work. Go talk to them and ask them what to do, and I'll get ready while you find a solution, alright?"

"Slow down, kid." Emma laughed, standing up as well to approach her son and laughing at how eager he was. "We just wanted to see what you were thinking about this, and we want to do it, but we don't even know if it's going to be possible. I'm really not sure that Snow and David will be that thrilled to learn that we want to have another ceremony than the one they're already planning."

Henry erased her worry with a little gesture of his hand, as if it were absolutely nothing. She chuckled in surprise, amused to see him that confident about the situation. He really could be incredibly determined when he wanted something, and she was pretty sure he'd got that from her. He walked to his wardrobe and opened it to see what was inside and decide on what to wear for this new ceremony, saying.

"Of course, they'll be happy. I know that they'll want to help you, too. Go, now. If you want to get married before sunrise, we'll have to hurry up."

Killian and Emma exchanged looks for a second, thinking that this kid that they'd raised together was definitely full of surprises. He was amazing, and she would never stop being proud of him. Knowing that he would insist until they agreed on doing what he wanted them to, she approached him again to press a little kiss on the top of his head. "Okay, then. See you later." She simply said, before leaving the room to get back to the hallway.

She searched for Killian's hand once more as they were walking, giving it a gentle squeeze. She was way less confident than Henry was about her parents' reaction to what they wanted to tell them. They were probably not going to be very happy to see them entering their room in the middle of the night, only to ask them if they knew someone who could marry them now, after all the energy they'd put into planning everything. This was definitely not something a princess would do, and she was a bit worried that they would be sad, or even mad because of it. She didn't want to disappoint them, but at the same time, she really wanted this. And she didn't want to give up on this wonderful idea just because she was scared.

She hesitated for a second before knocking on their door when they arrived in front of it. Killian could obviously see how nervous she was, and he gently wrapped his arm around her shoulders, bringing her close to kiss her temple. The sweet gesture immediately made her feel better, because she knew exactly why she was doing this. Gently, he murmured against her skin, making her heart flutter.

"Relax, darling. Everything's alright."

She let go of a little sigh to try and find the strength in her to do this, but his presence by her side and his gentle words had already reassured her a lot. So she turned to briefly peck his lips, and she finally announced their presence behind the wooden surface. And then they both patiently waited for the door to open as they could hear muffled voices on the other side, telling her that her parents had been awoken by their intervention.

Finally, after a few more moments, her mother appeared before them, her hair messy and her eyes swollen with sleep as she'd obviously been snapped out of her dreams. Her confused expression however disappeared when she saw them standing there hand in hand, and she suddenly looked very worried. Her voice a bit deeper than usual, she asked.

"Emma? Killian? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine." Emma reassured her so she wouldn't be too concerned. "We just have… Well, we have something to ask you."

"At four in the morning?" David said from inside the room, sounding a bit grumpy to have been woken up so early.

"Yes. It's quite important." She defended herself with a little shrug, what made Killian chuckle slightly beside her.

Snow frowned and stared at the both of them for a few seconds, and Emma had the strange and insane feeling that she already knew exactly what they wanted to do. David was still sitting on the bed and was scowling at them, obviously really annoyed with their behavior. She smiled at him to try and make amends for waking him up so abruptly, as her mother was still looking at them without saying a word. Understanding that they were waiting to know more, Killian gently nudged her shoulder to encourage her, and she finally continued, taking a deep breath before talking.

"We wanna get married."

"I thought that this had already been decided long ago." David grumbled, and Snow chuckled at that, even if she looked like she'd perfectly understood what was going on.

"No, that's not what I meant." Emma corrected, realizing that she hadn't been clear and squeezing Killian's hand a bit more. "We wanna get married, right now. Tonight. And we were wondering if you knew someone who could marry us at this late hour. We still want to have the big ceremony, of course. But we also want this little thing, just us, you and Henry. Would you be able to help us?"

Emma bit her lower lip after getting quiet, expecting hundreds of questions and even maybe a bit of anger because this idea was definitely surprising. But she only met silence, as David was finally coming to stand beside his wife. She suddenly realized that he'd lost his annoyed expression and was now smiling, even looking a bit moved by the situation. She blinked, not understanding anything that was going on, and broke the quiet that had settled to ask.

"Is everything okay?"

"Of course, it's just… Emma." David answered, the emotion making his voice shake a little bit. "Your mother and I, we also got married before our big ceremony. Just her, me and my mother."

"What?" Emma got surprised, as she'd never read about this in any of Henry's books. "Why?"

"It's a long story." Snow said, looking like she was about to cry. "But we think that it's a wonderful idea. We'll find someone, don't you worry. I can promise you that you'll be married in a couple of hours."

They didn't ask them why they didn't want to wait anymore, as if they knew the reason behind this request. They just stared at them, looking immensely happy, and Emma felt her heartbeats fastening in her chest as she was finally allowing herself to be excited about this. This was really happening, after all. She turned to Killian and they shared a smile, as he was leaning to press a sweet kiss on her forehead.

Snow was right. In a few hours, they would finally be husband and wife. And she just couldn't wait.

* * *

"Emma… You look absolutely beautiful." Snow said, placing a flower crown on the top of her daughter's head, the last touch to her outfit for the night.

She seemed so utterly moved, and Emma smiled at her, looking at her reflection in the mirror in front of her. After they'd gone to her parents' room to ask for their help, Snow had insisted to help her get ready while David was trying to find someone to marry them. She now looked so happy she seemed about to start crying in joy. They were alone in the room, their exhaustion erased by how excited and impatient they were. Emma was about to get married to the man she loved. And she swore her heart grew twice its size each time she thought about it.

She stood up from the chair she was sitting on to look at her dress more easily. She had decided not to wear Snow's wedding dress, wanting to keep it for the real ceremony and surprise Killian with it. So she'd chosen a simple white gown instead, letting her hair fall in wild waves above the laced corset. The white flower crown she'd just placed over her head seemed to be catching every light around and her smile widened. She wasn't even nervous, she realized. She was just incredibly, so deeply happy.

"Ready?" Snow asked, taking both her hands in hers to look at her for a moment.

Emma nodded immediately, because she was more than ready to live this moment that she'd been dreaming of for what seemed like forever. Her mother let go of her hands with a smile, and walked to go open the door of the room, taking her to the gates that were leading to the gardens of the castle. Emma really had no idea of what was awaiting for her, since Killian, David and Henry had decided to take care of everything. And she discovered her father there, the biggest smile on his face and his eyes shining with pride as he was looking at her.

Behind him was stretching a sight that left her speechless in awe. She never really understood how they'd managed to do all of this in such little time, but dozens of small lanterns were now placed in the grass, forming a path that was showing her the way to get to her destination. She didn't even know what to say, at how gorgeous all of this was. It looked like heaven, and she shook her head as David was offering her his arm and her mother was walking away to go join the place Killian and Henry were waiting at. Her father answered her silent question as she was still staring at the scene, looking quite amused by her reaction.

"It's not because it's a secret wedding that you don't have the right to a bit of romance. This was Killian's idea. He knew you'd love it."

"That's… Beautiful." She replied, too moved to say anything else.

She stayed alone with her father at the door for a few more seconds, smoothing the skirt of her dress and taking a deep breath to etch these moments into her memory. Then she turned to David and, together, they started their walk along the path of lights that was leading her to her future husband.

He was waiting for her in the back of the gardens, standing underneath an arbor from which were hanging dozens of white flowers. Henry was right beside him, looking like he couldn't help but smile at this moment that he'd been waiting for as well. Killian turned to look at her as soon as he heard her approaching, his eyes shining with emotion and endless love. He'd himself put on a dark suit, and was so handsome she grinned from ear to ear. Her heart seemed fit to burst as her father was dropping a kiss to the top of her head before letting her join her boyfriend. Killian instantly reached for her hand and she took it as he was still looking at her in awe.

"You look like an angel." He whispered, making her blush a little bit.

"Wait until you see the real dress." She teased him and he chuckled slightly. "You look very handsome, too."

"Alright." A voice beside them then said, making them turn. "Let's begin, shall we?"

The person who had talked was a fifty-something man, who was smiling widely and didn't seem bothered at all by the fact that they'd got him out of his bed before sunrise for this unexpected ceremony. He even seemed really happy to welcome them, and he continued warmly, looking at them both with a tenderized grin.

"I'm not going to annoy you with big speeches. You can exchange your vows, if you wish to."

Emma felt her heart skipping a beat at that, and her cheeks reddened as she was suddenly feeling a bit sick. The joy that she had felt until then got replaced at once by a huge nervousness that seemed to be devouring her from the inside. Completely lost, she turned toward Killian, not knowing what to do at all.

Her vows. She hadn't thought about that for tonight. How could she have forgotten such an important thing?

She hadn't written them for the big ceremony yet, simply because she hadn't found the right way to start. She'd never been really good with words and big speeches, it was Killian's thing, not hers, and if she would tell him how she really felt about him a lot now, she had no idea of what her vows were supposed to be like. So she'd planned to do this at the last minute, trying to convince herself that she still had time and that she would end up finding what to say before the wedding.

But time had run out and she hadn't realized it when she'd had the idea of this secret ceremony. She needed to say something right now, and she had no idea of what to do. Seeing her expression, Killian started to talk, his voice soft and reassuring. He still hadn't let go of her hand, looking at her so lovingly she felt herself relax a little bit.

"It's okay, my love. I didn't prepare anything either. Let's just keep the big speeches for the real ceremony, aye? I simply want to tell you how I feel right now."

His blue eyes were so comforting, she allowed herself to start breathing again. She knew that whatever happened, she wouldn't disappoint him, never. So she looked at him as he was still smiling, and listened intently when he started to speak again.

"Emma, my darling, I don't even know how to tell you how much I love you. Being here with you, tonight, this is a dream that is finally becoming true. _You're_ my dream, and you bring so much joy into my life every single day. You're the love of my life, my best friend and my soulmate. You gave me love, a son and a family when I had given up on myself and on trying to find happiness. You're the most amazing person that I've ever met. You'll never cease to amaze me at how strong, loving, fierce, funny, smart and beautiful you are. You stole my heart a long time ago, Swan, it's all yours and I know that you'll take care of it. And I promise to protect yours, always. We can never be sure of anything in this life, but I am certain of one thing. I want to wake up beside you fifty years from now, and still find you even more gorgeous than the day before."

She felt a lonely tear rolling down her cheek at his statement, and she heard her mother sigh from emotion in her back. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze, trying to stop other tears from falling. She opened her mouth to answer, but nothing at all came out. She didn't know how to tell him how much she loved him, and it scared her a bit, because she just would have wanted him to see how important he was for her.

Seeing that she was struggling, he gently murmured, looking straight into her eyes. "It's okay, love. You don't have to say anything. I already know."

But she refused to choose this easy solution. She knew that she would regret it afterwards if she didn't do this, and he deserved to feel the way she was feeling thanks to him, too. So she thought about it for a moment, and finally decided to let her instincts speak. She knew her love for him, she just had to put words on it and she was sure that she could actually do it. So, finally, she said.

"No, I want to. I just… I don't really know how to tell you what I feel every time I look at you, Killian. It's too powerful, and no words could ever come close to what happens in my heart when I hear your voice or feel your touch on my skin. I knew you were it, right when I saw you in this tavern when we first met, you know? I didn't want to admit it to myself back then, because my walls were too high, but I was already attracted to you. I could see the amazing man you already were. I could see the kindness and caring behind this broken heart. And I was right, because you made me the happiest I've ever been. You adopted Henry, and you traded everything to be with us. You've never given up on me, even when things got difficult and I tried to push you away. Before you, I'd promised myself that I would never trust anyone ever again. But you waited for me to be ready without forcing me into anything, you've brought every single one of my walls down and you showed me that I could be loved. I'm not scared anymore, and it's all thanks to you. You brought the lost little girl back home. And I want to spend the rest of eternity with you, because nothing makes sense unless you're there."

Killian seemed to be fighting against the tears now, and against himself so he wouldn't pull her closer and kiss her senseless on the spot. He was looking at her like she was an angel, and he squeezed her hand in his and smiled, making butterflies appear in the pit of her stomach. He seemed so happy. Gods, she was so happy.

"I love you so much." He murmured then, and she answered right away.

"I love you so much, too."

The man beside them let the silence settle in for a second, so they could enjoy these incredible words for a bit longer. Then, he asked them the famous question, that were tying them together until the end of time. And even there, their love would never stop existing, because it was just stronger than anything else in the world.

They both answered yes without hesitating and they placed the rings on their fingers, marveling at the touch of the cold steel against their skin, symbol of their story that was only just beginning.

His mouth was on hers before the man could ever finish his sentence that was allowing them to kiss and promise each other that they would stay together through everything that would be thrown their way. They would protect and cherish each other, and would never, ever give up.

The sun decided to offer its first light of the day there, as they were kissing. It enlightened the entire place and made it look absolutely magical, as if the universe was agreeing with their choice to love each other forever, too.

Once they pulled away, she rested her head on his shoulder, and he locked his arms around her to hold her close, burying his face in her hair to breathe her in. She smiled through her tears as she was realizing that this was it. Killian was her husband. Finally. Husband, lover, best friend, soulmate. Her entire world.


	29. Chapter 29

"I love you." Killian murmured against the skin of Emma's neck for the hundredth time in a few minutes, making her lay down on their bed. "I love you." He repeated, all while kissing her this time as his hand was running down her stomach to grab her waist and bring her even closer.

"I love you, too." She replied, catching his lips again because she simply couldn't get enough of him.

They'd just come back from the secret ceremony, and the sun was slowly starting to rise in the sky in an explosion of red, orange and pink, announcing a new day. But they just couldn't pay any attention to it. They didn't want to sleep, they weren't even tired despite the fact they'd stayed awake for the entire night. The only things that existed anymore were them, their touch and their taste, as if they were all alone in the world. And the only person Emma could see was this man who was now looking at her like she'd just brought him all the stars.

Her husband.

He gently took off the flower crown from her blond hair to place it on their night table. His eyes were darkened with lust, and he looked like he just couldn't stop staring at her. He slowly ran his fingers down her face, her cheek, her jaw, as if he were discovering her for the very first time. He was looking at her so intensely she felt like her heart was going to burst. He loved her so much. Gods, she loved  _him_  so much.

His hand slowly went down to take her hips again, and he leaned to press a bunch of little kisses on her collarbones, making her sigh in pure bliss. His mouth went down then, traveling along the cleavage of her dress and she tilted her head back so he could have better access to her skin. But he wasn't able to reach her breast because of the gown she was still wearing, and he was forced to pull away from her, what made her grown in protest. It made him smile, and he pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose, then said in a whisper.

"You're absolutely stunning in this dress, love, but I still can't wait to take it off. I find you even more beautiful when you're not wearing anything."

"What are you waiting for, then?" She panted, encouraging him to act upon his words because she just couldn't wait any longer to be with him.

He smirked again, and answered her request immediately. "As you wish, my darling."

The corset of the dress was luckily not a very complicated one, and she quickly got rid of it, lying down naked before him. She decided that he was definitely wearing way too many clothes too, and she took off his suit, tossing it on the floor next to her gown. She smiled when all of this was done, and she kissed his lips once again before saying against his mouth..

"You wanna know a great thing about having two weddings?"

"Aside from the fact that I'm lucky enough to marry the love of my life twice?"

"Yeah." She chuckled at his words. "Aside from that."

"Tell me, lass." He answered, still intensly looking at every inch of her skin and his fingers softly tickling her side.

"We have two wedding nights." She whispered, and he leaned to kiss her once again.

"Ah, well, it's not like we really need an occasion to do  _this_ , beautiful." He smirked yet another time.

"True, but it's even better this time."

"And why's that?" He said, visibly amused.

"Because we're married now,  _husband_." She replied, stressing the last word.

"Like I could ever forget that,  _wife_." he answered in the same charming tone.

She lifted her head up to reach for his mouth, and tilted her face to deepen the kiss as his tongue was finding hers immediately, starting this incredible, familiar dance that always made her feel dizzy with happiness. Her husband, he really was her husband. She could hardly believe it, at how amazing this all was.

She'd found what some people sought for their entire life, sometimes without even managing to truly have it, and she felt like the luckiest woman alive. She'd found true love, with this wonderful man who was her everything. They could overcome anything together. They were going to spend the rest of their lives, of all eternity hand in hand. He was never going to leave her, she knew it because she trusted him with everything that she had. And she loved him with every fiber of her being.

Their moment was gentle, that night. Almost softer than ever before, and gods know that they'd done this so often already. They moved slowly together, their lips never parting. Their hearts seemed to beat in unison as their hands were caressing the other's skin, worshiping each other as if they were the most precious things in the entire world. And all while kissing, they murmured again and again how much they loved each other. She was sure that this was what heaven was supposed to be like. And she couldn't believe that she was lucky enough to know this kind of happiness for the rest of her days.

Their future was right in front of them, bright and hopeful, and so, so happy. They were diving into it at the exact same time, hand in hand. Together, as always.

* * *

Three days had passed since the secret wedding in the gardens of the palace. Three days since Emma had got married to her best friend and the love of her life, under the lights of hundreds of candles and in front of the people she loved the most. Three days punctuated by kisses and gentle words, by huge smiles and this incredible, endless happiness that seemed bigger than anything else in the universe. They would laugh a lot when they would think about all these people that didn't know that they were married already, and they had kept this secret ceremony between them like a real treasure. They would tell their love to each other every minute of every day, and she was sure that she could have died from pure bliss right there, because this was just too incredible.

It had been three days, the three best days of her life, and she was now finally getting ready for the real ceremony.

She wasn't even nervous about it anymore. Despite all of these people that were going to watch them as they would promise each other that their love would never weaken, all the anxiety that she had previously felt had faded away since their wedding. She wasn't even scared about these vows that she was supposed to say in front of everyone anymore. Ever since her statement in the gardens of the palace the other night, everything seemed so easy. She'd been able to write down all the things she wanted to say to Killian, because it now seemed completely obvious.

Her speech was a bit more formal this time, as the tradition wanted it to be, but it was as powerful as the first one had been. And she couldn't wait for Killian to hear it. She was so impatient to be able to wear her alliance for real, and to stop hiding the fact that she was his wife after that day, even if she'd liked keeping the secret for a little while. She was so excited about seeing his reaction at the altar when he would watch her approaching, and she just couldn't wait to look into his eyes as they would promise each other the entire world and more for the second time in a few days.

She was so damn happy. She was lucky enough to be able to marry Killian twice, and she knew that these moments would stay with her for the rest of her life.

Her smile hadn't left her once since she'd got out of bed that morning. Killian and her hadn't been able to spend a lot of time together, as they'd been forced to part ways so they could both go get ready. Even if he'd told her that it was bad luck to see the bride before the wedding, they hadn't been able to stay separated for the entire night, and they had fallen asleep in each other's arms, as always. And before he'd disappeared into another room to get dressed, they'd had the time to exchange dozen of kisses, because they just wanted to be close for a little bit longer.

He was so ecstatic, too. He seemed like the happiest man on earth, and she would have given anything for him to keep this smile on his face for the rest of eternity. He'd probably told her that he loved her a thousand times since they'd got married, what would always make her heart stutter in happiness. She would never get used to hearing these beautiful words, and she knew that they would always make her feel the same way, no matter what. This happiness would stay with them forever now, she was convinced of it. They were both beaming, more in love than ever, the two lost souls having found a home in each other.

Gods, she loved him so much it still felt surreal sometimes.

She was in her room now, getting ready with Snow's help. Her mother was looking at her with a proud smile dancing on her lips, as she'd put on her wedding dress already. The gown was still absolutely perfect, and Emma knew that it was reminding the Queen of her own wedding a little bit. Except that, this time, Regina wouldn't come to ruin anything. She was so sure of it, now, she wasn't afraid anymore. Everything was going to be just fine, because what she felt was too powerful to get spoiled by anything.

Snow had tears in her eyes and she took Emma's hands in hers, speaking so gently her daughter couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. "You are absolutely beautiful, honey. Killian is going to be left speechless. Thank you for allowing me to share this moment with you. I couldn't be happier to be able to help you get ready for your wedding day."

"I should be the one thanking you, Snow." Emma answered immediately. "You've planned everything, you gave me this dress and you allowed us to have two weddings in a few days. You made everything perfect, and it means so much to us. I'm really happy to be able to share this with you, too."

Her mother winked at her, and Emma could see that she was trying not to start crying at her little statement. They'd really grown so much closer during these last few days, and the Queen couldn't stop smiling at the real relationship that she was finally sharing with her daughter after all this time. Things were still complicated from time to time, but at least they were together and Emma didn't want to run away anymore. They were all happy, and they would continue to be, always. This was absolutely perfect.

Exactly as they'd done so for the first ceremony, Snow led her to David after looking at Emma for a few more minutes, as if to etch her image into her memory. Her father was awaiting for them above a staircase, this time, and he smiled when he heard them approaching. They had to go down these steps, cross a hallway, then join the main room where dozens of guests, Killian and Henry were already waiting for them. Their son was the one who had taken the alliances, and he hadn't lost his grin once either, so happy to see his parents getting married once again. Taking David's arm, Emma felt her stomach tightening. It however wasn't from nervousness at all, but from a beautiful mix of excitation and pure happiness.

She just couldn't wait.

Things were a little bit different than it'd been the first time, though. Snow didn't walk away and came to take Emma's other arm, as both her parents were going to lead her to the altar. She saw them exchanging proud looks as she was standing in between them, and her heart missed a wonderful beat. She'd never thought that she could have this. She'd never even dared to truly believe that she would get married one day, let alone with her parents by her side. And they were looking at her with so much love, she knew that she really was lucky. She had a chance to be happy after all the pain of the past, and she promised herself that she would never take this for granted, because she knew how precious this was.

After a moment of silence, they finally started to walk to the huge gates, behind which were waiting the guests. Everyone knew that she was coming, and the noises of conversation had already stopped as she was standing behind the doors. She took a deep breath to get ready for this big moment, then nodded to the two guards that were standing beside them. She was still smiling so big her cheeks were hurting, but she just couldn't bring herself to care.

The gates finally opened after a moment, and a gentle, slow melody started to ring as she was walking into the room. She slowly moved forward, her parents by her side and her heart pounding in her chest. She could hear the crowd murmuring in awe around her, and her smile widened a bit more.

Briefly looking around, she could recognize some familiar faces there as everyone was standing up to welcome her. Granny, Red, Ella, Ariel and their husbands were smiling at her, and she happily returned their grins. Kate and Chiara were of course in the first row, and were both looking at her in excitement. The crowd was placed in circle around the altar, and the room was beautifully decorated with flowers and candles, but everything disappeared at once when Emma saw Killian standing there. She met his eyes and she felt like the world was fading around her, as she just couldn't look away.

He was waiting for her at the altar, Henry standing right beside him. The little boy looked like a prince in his suit, and she found him so adorable she sighed slightly in awe. The man she loved was wearing an outfit that was a bit clearer than the one he'd worn to their first wedding, but he was as handsome as ever. Her heart skipped a beat as she was still staring at him, and butterflies appeared inthe pit of her stomach. For a crazy minute, all she wanted to do was pull away from her parents to run to him and throw herself into his arms. She did nothing of the sort though, and simply smiled at him as if they were alone in the room.

Killian was staring at her as if she'd just come right from heaven and were the most important person on earth and the only woman he would ever see. His eyes were shining with tears of joy, and his lips were parted as he seemed to find her absolutely breathtaking. He looked like he couldn't believe that she was there in front of him, because this moment was perfect. And he seemed to think that he was the luckiest man in the entire universe to be able to marry her twice.

She kept on looking at Killian and Henry as she was still walking down the aisle, but absently noticed that the man who was standing behind them was the same who had married them in secret a few days before. He discreetly winked at her as she was arriving, what made her smile widely. He seemed as happy as ever to be there, as if he could tell just how endless their love for each other really was.

She finally arrived to the few steps that were leading to the altar, and her parents let go of her there. David kissed her cheek and her mother did the same, and she felt like her heart was growing once again at how sweet the moment was. She thought for a second that it really was going to burst if it continued that way, but she couldn't have cared less. She was just too happy to do anything but smile at the wonderful life that was opening in front of all of them.

As he'd done so the first time, Killian took her hand to help her get beside him. They both knew that this ceremony was much more formal than the first one had been, and that they couldn't really talk to each other before being allowed to exchange their vows. But he didn't need to say anything out loud, because she knew. She could read everything that he was feeling in his gorgeous blue eyes. Pure love for her and for everything they were building together. And she kept his hand in hers as they were both turning toward the man there, who smiled at them both before starting with the ceremony.

He talked for a very long time about love and mutual support, and she only listened absently, as she knew that Killian and her were already sharing this since the day they'd met, and that it would never stop. She focused on the touch of his hand on her skin instead, and on how gently he was stroking her knuckles with his thumb, making her shiver in happiness. She bit her lip as she was trying to etch every single second of this day into her memory to cherish them for the rest of eternity.

She turned her head to look at Henry, as he was staring at the both of them and looking truly moved by the moment. She knew how important this was for her little boy, too. Being able to see his parents getting married was magical for him, and he seemed overexcited and so touched all at the same time. She offered him a wink when she met his gaze, and he answered with a little smile. He really looked like he was happier than he'd ever been before, and that was all she ever wished for him, to be smiling like that forever.

Their little family really was perfect, and the butterflies came back to fly in her stomach as she was thinking about how much she loved the two of them.

"You can now exchange vows."

Henry approached his dad to give him one of the alliances, looking very solemn as he was doing so. The gold of the ring was shining so brightly under the lights of the candles, everyone looked at it for a second in awe. Killian let go of her hand then, to tenderly place the jewel around her finger. They both didn't move for a while, just staring at this promise that they would carry with them every day of their life. Her heart was pounding so strongly in her chest she felt like he could easily hear it too.

"Emma Swan." He finally started, his voice a bit deeper than usual. "I can't even express how happy I am to become your husband today. You are the bravest, most incredible person I know. You are absolutely perfect, so much that it's still hard to believe it sometimes. You gave me everything I could ever have wished for, just by being by my side. I promise you to protect your heart, whatever happens, even if I know that you can protect yourself, because you're so strong. I promise to make you and our son happy, every single day of our lives together. I promise you to love you a bit more with each passing second, and to overcome every obstacle that we could ever encounter together. Nothing could ever break what we have, my love. What we feel is stronger than anything else in the world."

She smiled at him, tears in her eyes as she'd listened to his beautiful speech. She took a deep breath when Henry gave her the other wedding band, and shared a grin with her son for a second. Then she gently took Killian's hand and placed the ring where it belonged as well. She kept his fingers in between hers, watching their rings shining together for a while. She finally looked up after a moment, losing herself into the blue of his eyes, and she began to speak.

"Killian Jones, you're the love of my life ever since the first moment I saw you. You showed me that I could trust again and that I could be happy. You proved me that I was enough and that I would be very loved, someday. You've never stopped trying to take care of Henry or me since we met, and you've always been by my side, even when we were physically separated. You're so strong, brave and wonderful, and I admire you beyond words for the amazing man you are. I promise you to never give up on us and to never let you down. I promise to show you how incredible you are every day, even if I know that you find it hard to believe it sometimes. I promise you to build this happiness and this future by your side, no matter what. I love you so much. Always and forever."

The room was silent, everyone deeply touched by how pure their vows had been. They let the quiet settle in for a second as they were both looking at each other, lost in their own little world. When the man beside them started to talk again, they still didn't stop staring into each other's eyes. He stated then, a smile clearly audible in his voice.

"Killian Jones, do you take this woman to be your wife, and promise to love her for all eternity?"

"I do." He answered in the second, pronouncing the same words they'd told each other barely a few days before this moment.

"Emma Swan, do you take this man to be your husband, and promise to love him for all eternity?"

"I do." She answered immediately as well, her voice shaking a little bit with how happy she was.

"I then pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride." The man said, still grinning widely.

Killian placed his hook on the small of her back and her hands came to wrap around his neck and bring him close. They both leaned at the same time, and their lips met for a tender kiss. They were well aware that this sweet gesture couldn't be too passionate, because a lot of people were looking at them, but they didn't really need it to be. The love she could read between them in this moment was worth everything, and she felt it in her bones as they were promising each other that their love would always stay endless.

Emma forgot everything then. She forgot that it was at this exact moment that Regina had come to interrupt her parents' wedding all those years before. She forgot that her threat was still there, hanging above their heads, and that she could come and attack them at anytime. She just enjoyed her husband's embrace and the love of this wonderful man. She was so happy to feel him against her, and could barely hear the cheering of the crowd all around them. All that was existing was him, and she would have wanted this moment to last forever.

They had still so many beautiful things to live together. They were going to be very happy for the rest of their lives. They could overcome anything, even death, because their love was just too strong to be broken. She could feel it deep inside of her as she was kissing her husband, this was for the rest of eternity. She'd found true love. She'd found a home. And she could tell that this man would make her feel that special until the end of time and even beyond that.

* * *

"Did I tell you how beautiful you are, already?" Killian said in her ear as he'd wrapped his arms around her from behind, holding her close to his chest.

"At least a hundred times, but I don't mind hearing it at all." Emma chuckled, what made him laugh as well.

"Good." He replied gently. "Because you're breathtaking, and I plan on repeating this to you many, many times."

"Tonight, or forever?" She said teasingly.

"For the rest of eternity, my Swan. You'll always be the most beautiful woman on earth to me."

She smiled and turned in his arms to face him. His blue eyes were staring at her so intensely her heart fluttered for the umpteenth time that day. She placed one hand over his heart to feel the beats against her palm, and the other went up to run through his dark locks. She looked at him for another little while, then she placed herself on her tiptoe to press a little peck on his lips. Their wedding bands seemed so bright in the lights of the room, and she was so happy she felt a bit dizzy with it.

"Mom? Dad? Can I talk to you for a second?" A little voice suddenly said beside them and they pulled away, Killian's arm still wrapped around her waist to keep her against him.

They both looked at their son as they hadn't heard him approaching, too lost in their little bubble of happiness. They were standing in a corner of the room as dozens of employees were getting the place ready to welcome all the guests for dinner. They'd of course offered their help, but her parents had strongly refused it, telling them that it was their day and that they needed to enjoy it. So they'd simply spent these few moments between the ceremony and the party together, kissing and laughing with each other, because they just couldn't get enough of the perfect bond they were sharing.

Henry had been helping his grandparents until then, but he was now standing beside Emma and Killian, looking a bit nervous with what he had to tell them. His expression intrigued his mom, and she pulled a little bit away from her husband to look at her little boy intently. Seeing that he was very obviously worried, she placed her hand on his shoulder and waited for him to look into her eyes before saying in a gentle voice.

"Are you okay, kiddo?"

"Yeah." He nodded, offering her a shy smile. "I just have something to ask you."

"Anything, lad." Killian said right away. "This is your day too, and you can tell us anything."

That made Henry smile, for real this time, and he took a deep breath before continuing. Killian came to approach them too, wrapping his left arm around Emma again and looking at their son with a comforting expression, trying to show him that whatever was happening in his mind, everything was going to be just fine. Finally, after a second, the little boy started to talk again and he said in a small voice.

"I'm actually thinking about something quite important since I know that you're going to get married, but I don't know if you'll think that it's a good idea or not."

"Hey, I'm sure that it is." Emma tried to reassure him. "Whatever it is, Henry, it's okay. Just tell us."

"Well..." He hesitated for a while, then decided to finally go for it. "You know, Dad, you've always been a father to me ever since the first time we met." He stated seriously, looking straight into Killian's eyes.

"And you've always been a son to me." He answered immediately, obviously knowing that something crucial was about to happen.

"It wasn't official until now, though." The little boy said with a smile at his father's words. "But now you're married to Mom, so you're officially my step-dad. And I was wondering..."

"Aye?" Killian gently encouraged him.

"Would you be okay with me taking your last name, too? Can I become Henry Swan-Jones?"

Killian stayed speechless for a minute, and Emma felt how touched he was in her own bones. She had to admit that she was pretty moved, too. This request from their boy was definitely unexpected, and she found it so beautiful, as father and son both loved each other so much. Blood didn't matter, Killian really was Henry's dad. This day was getting better and better, and she could have cried from happiness at what she was witnessing.

Finally, after a few seconds during which Henry looked up at him in worry because of his silence, Killian let go of Emma to kneel in front of their son and hug him close to his heart. The little boy rested his head on his father's shoulder and smiled, as if he already knew the answer to his question. After another instant of quiet, her husband said at last, his voice shaking just a little bit.

"Henry, this would be my honor to have you wear my name. Gods, lad. You have no idea how happy this makes me."

"Really?" Their little boy asked, grinning as he was hearing these words and pulling away to look at his father more easily.

"You're my son." Killian said, placing a hand on Henry's shoulder again. "I couldn't be happier that you chose me to be your father. And I'm so proud of you, a little bit more every day. You're an amazing lad, Henry. It's such a joy to be able to see you grow up, and hearing you ask me this today is the most amazing thing."

"You've always been there for me." Henry then answered, tears in his eyes as he was listening to his dad say all these beautiful things. "I love you."

"I love you too, so much." Killian said before hugging him once again.

When they pulled away after a few seconds, Henry looked up at Emma again. She was fighting against herself in order not to start crying, and she sniffed discreetly as she was so happy to see her two boys always being so close. Her son asked her, seeming very serious and a bit worried, as if he were scared that she could refuse his wonderful request.

"What do you think about this, Mom?"

"Oh, kid." She said immediately, her voice a bit muffled by her tears. "I think that this is an incredible idea. I'm so glad that we're such a perfect little family. And even if I didn't agree with this, which is obviously not the case, it wouldn't be my place to refuse, you know? This is between you and your dad. And I'm so happy to hear you ask this today."

The smile Henry offered her then made one tear roll down her face, and she squatted, trying not to trip over her dress, to hug him tighty too. Killian wrapped his arms around the both of them, and they shared a long, intense embrace all together there, as she could feel that her husband was about to start crying as well. This was so amazing she could hardly believe it. She felt like the luckiest woman on earth to have such a sweet, adorable family to share her life with.

They were interrupted in their little moment by her mother's voice, who had obviously no idea of what was going on. Teasingly, she said. "You guys are too adorable. Come on, now, dinner is going to be served soon."

It made her chuckle slightly, and she finally stood back up, wiping off the tears from her cheeks as Killian was discreetly doing the same. She smiled at her son, and realized with surprise that the guests had actually started to arrive for dinner, which would be followed by a ball in their honor. During their intense discussion, everything had been organized, and her parents were sitting at the long table facing all the others, which were placed in circle around the empty spot that would later be used as the dance area.

Deciding to listen to her mother, because everyone was now waiting for them, she took Killian's hand in hers and they shared a look at this amazing moment they'd just lived. Then, with Henry by their side, they finally walked to the main table and sat down at the center of it, as their son was settling next to his mom. She couldn't help but look at her two boys in awe as they were both surrounding her, feeling so complete with them by her side. They were perfect, and their future would be too. She was just so proud of them.

Dinner was served a few minutes later, as everyone had settled in and Emma's heart was still pounding fast at Henry's beautiful request. Their little boy still couldn't help but smile, looking happier than he'd even been, and Killian seemed completely awestruck with what had just happened. His eyes were still shining proudly as he was looking at his son, and she knew just how much this meant for him. She could tell that her husband had lived one of the best moments of his life, and she couldn't have been more thrilled for him. He deserved this happiness so much after everything that he'd been through.

And she tried to etch all these moments into her memory, because this was absolutely perfect. The food was delicious and the wine was flowing, even if Emma and Killian were discreetly sharing a flask of rum to celebrate their union and this amazing day. Everyone seemed to be having a lot of fun, and her husband was regularly pressing little kisses on her lips or cheek, seeming like he couldn't look away from her even for a second.

At the end of the meal, Emma's head was pleasantly spinning a little bit, because of the rum and the huge happiness that she was experiencing. As they were eating dessert, her father suddenly stood up and gently banged his knife against the side of his glass, announcing the toast he wanted to make. Everyone stopped talking immediately and all the eyes were on him in a second as he was smiling widely at the guests. Emma didn't know that he'd planned on making a speech, and she looked at him in surprise as he was beginning to talk, looking so happy she couldn't help but grin as well.

"Emma, Killian, this is our greatest pleasure to be able to witness your wedding today. You both love each other so much, and you deserve this happiness you've found together. I'm so happy to have you here in this castle with us. Emma, it's an honor to learn about you a bit more every day, and I'll always be proud of you. You're incredibly strong and loving, and we're the happiest to have you in our lives, because you make every second brighter with your presence. Killian, despite our pretty rocky start, I know that you are a good man. You make Emma and Henry very happy, and I'm thrilled to welcome you into the family today. So this is for you two, and for this happiness. Congratulations."

All the guests raised their glass to imitate the King, and Emma placed her hand over her heart, so touched by her father's words. He winked at her, seeing how moved she was, and she whispered a quiet thank you that seemed to make him very happy as well. He sat back down and Killian pressed a little kiss to her cheek, murmuring another  _I love you_  to her ear as Henry was looking at the both of them with the biggest grin on his face.

The ball started soon after that. The tradition wanted for Killian and Emma to share a dance alone in the middle of the room, but she hadn't wanted that to happen. She didn't want all these people to be staring at her, while she still didn't feel very comfortable dancing, despite Killian who would always tell her that she was a natural. She really wanted her first dance with her husband to be a happy moment, and not to be ruined by her anxiety. So Killian had talked about it with David, and her father had understood her feelings perfectly. Everything happened a bit differently than it was supposed to then, and everyone was invited to join them as they were standing in each other's arms, ready for their first waltz as a married couple.

As Killian's hook was placed on the small of her back, and as she was lost into the deep blue of his eyes, she thought for the thousandth time that day that she was definitely a very lucky woman. He would never have done anything to make her feel uncomfortable, and he hadn't hesitated to break the tradition for her. She knew that this moment would stay with her for the rest of her life, and she smiled, holding his hand a little bit tighter. When the orchestra finally started to play a gentle melody, she wasn't even nervous anymore and let him lead her into this tender dance that she'd become so familiar with.

A lot of couples had actually come to join them to share this moment. Quickly looking around her, Emma saw her parents, Ariel and Eric, Ella and Thomas and so many more of Snow and David's friends. They were all moving together in harmony, but she was too busy looking at Killian to realize how beautiful the scene actually looked. On that moment, he was all that existed and she felt like she could fly from the incredible love she had for him.

As he was dipping her, he took advantage of her position to press a quick but tender kiss on her lips, what made her laugh against him. And they kept on dancing long after the first waltz was over, just enjoying the other's arms and this amazing, unforgettable moment. His eyes were on her and his hook was still holding her close, and she felt like they'd become one.

Husband and wife. They really were married, and it was known by everyone now. This was literally heaven.

The music suddenly grew slower, allowing her to wrap her arms around his neck and glue her body to his. They were so close, she just had to lean a bit in order to kiss him. He was everywhere, his hand and hook on her waist, his scent invading her and she felt like she was floating. With a smile, she told him in a whisper.

"Can you imagine that you're officially a prince, now?"

"That's right." He said, raising his eyebrows in surprise as if it were the first time he was truly realizing it, and it made her laugh. "Who could have thought that I would one day be part of a royal family."

"Who would have guessed that I would, too." She shrugged, because their lives had definitely taken a very interesting turn. "Prince Killian Jones… I like it. It suits you."

"Princess Emma Swan-Jones suits you, too." He winked at her.

"I can't believe that we all share the same name, now. Henry too. This is so beautiful." She added, gently running her fingers through his hair.

"I wasn't expecting this request from him." He confessed softly. "I didn't even know what to say. This lad really is amazing, and I couldn't be prouder of being his father. I just hope that he knows that."

"Oh, he knows, babe, don't worry. He adores you. All of this… this is perfect. It's better than any dream could ever be."

"I feel the same way, my Swan. You make me the happiest man, you know that, aye?" He asked gently.

"I know, and you make me happier than I've ever been."

"And I'll keep on trying to make you smile every day, because I just want you to be happy." He promised, briefly pressing his lips to her forehead. "I love you, darling."

"I love you, too. Beyond words and beyond everything."

They shared a kiss again then, tender and sweet, as if to promise each other all those things they'd just said out loud. They were going to always support and protect each other, and she thought that life couldn't get any better than that, as she was dancing in the arms of the man that was the center of her world.

They ended up taking a little break as they were waltzing for a very long time, to go get some water and enjoy some rest. They shared kisses in a corner of the room and watched their son talking enthusiastically to some of the kids of his age that had come with their parents, as Henry looked very happy to be able to make some friends. Killian hadn't let go of her waist once, wanting to hold her close, but they however got interrupted by an unexpected visit that both made them smile tenderly. A little girl was suddenly there, tugging at Killian's jacket and looking up at him a bit shyly with her big curious eyes.

Emma immediately recognized Melody, Ariel and Eric's daughter. She'd seemed to adore Killian the first time she'd met him, and she'd obviously not forgotten about him. She stared at him seriously when he looked down to smile at her, and she asked in a small voice.

"Could I have a dance with you, sir?"

Killian seemed to find the question absolutely adorable, and he gently pulled away from Emma to crouch and be at eye level with the little girl. He took her hand and looked at her with a small smile, playing along with how serious she was being. Emma couldn't help but find the moment utterly amazing, and she held a bit back, thinking once again the Killian was definitely so good with kids. He always managed to make them feel important, and he really was the best dad Henry could ever have wished for.

"That would be my honor, milady." He said gently, and the little girl finally grinned at his answer. He added, turning to Emma and saying teasingly. "Sorry, love. I'm afraid I have to leave you for a few moments."

"That's okay." She laughed. "Have fun, little princess, alright?" She winked at Melody, who smiled back at her.

Killian picked the little girl up as she was wrapping her arms around his neck, and he brought her to the dance area to make her waltz in rhythm with the music. Melody seemed absolutely delighted, and she laughed out loud as Killian was obviously joking to make her smile. Emma looked at them for a long time, a smile dancing on her lips as she was watching her husband being the kindest man ever. She was sure that she could have stared at him forever.

An idea crossed her mind then, without her fully realizing what it truly meant. She would only completely understand what she'd pictured in her head much later. But for now, she was simply thinking that he really was the best with children, and in a quick flash that lasted for an insane second, the little girl with dark hair that he was holding became one with blond locks, that was calling him daddy. Their daughter, even if she couldn't really grasp it on that moment. Simply because he was amazing with Henry, and she couldn't have hoped for a better role model for their son. And maybe, even if she wasn't conscious of these thoughts yet, for all their future kids to come.

But right now, and even though this was obviously huge, she just shook her head and these thoughts disappeared. She didn't ask herself one question, thinking that it was probably just the rum talking. Killian and her had never talked about having other kids. They'd never been in a stable situation before, and they were only settling in this new life that was being offered to them, all while Regina was back to threaten the entire kingdom. So she simply forgot that this idea had even crossed her mind and she started paying attention to her surroundings again.

As if nothing at all had happened, she walked to go join Henry as he was pouring himself a glass of orange juice. She placed her hand on his shoulder and he turned to look at her with a smile. He was beaming, looking so happy about everything that had happened that day. She took his hands as he was placing his glass back on the table, and she gently led him to the dance area too, saying with a smile.

"Could I have this dance, kiddo?"

He nodded with a huge smile still on his face, and she made him spin on himself as he was laughing out loud. She danced with him and they shared jokes for a few minutes, making him playfully roll his eyes but chuckle all at the same time. Finally, after a while, he said happily.

"You know, Mom, this is like the best day ever. I'm so glad that you and Dad are finally married."

"And I'm so glad that you're happy, Henry." She said tenderly. "I can see it in your eyes. If you could keep that smile for the rest of your life, I would be the happiest mom on earth."

"It's just… It means a lot to me that I'm officially Dad's son, now that I've taken his last name, too. He's been a father to me for so long, and I love our family so much."

"Believe me, kiddo, he's so incredibly happy to have you as his son, too. He adores you, and he is so proud of you. As I am. We're the perfect little family, the three of us, aren't we?"

He agreed enthusiastically, and they kept on talking for a minute, just being as close as ever, as they'd always had the greatest relationship since the little boy was born. Killian came to join them after a while, and he looked at them for a minute with a tenderized smile, before solemnly asking Henry for Emma's hand back. That made their son laugh, and he came to hug Killian for a second before going back to his own friends. His father smiled at that, and he came back to his wife, taking her against him again and kissing her forehead.

The party lasted for a very long time. Emma shared a dance with her father as well, as he was murmuring to her ear just how proud he was of her again, making her smile widely. She spent most of her time with Killian, kissing and dancing with her husband until her feet grew painful and her cheeks hurt from smiling so much. The guests ended up leaving as it was already quite late, and they all came to congratulate them one last time as they were waving to bid them goodbye. Killian's arm was still around her waist and her head was resting against his shoulder, because they just didn't want to let go of each other.

The night was well settled by the time everyone had left, but despite her exhaustion, Emma didn't want this day to end. She knew that this was just the beginning of their lives together, and she prayed for this happiness to last forever. So, wanting to extend these beautiful times just for a bit longer, they spent another little while in the main room with her parents, Kate and Chiara, simply thanking them for the day and enjoying this perfect moment all together.

Henry almost fell asleep as soon as he climbed into his bed, still smiling as he'd dived into his dreams. After closing his door behind them to let him sleep in peace, they finally headed for their own room, as Killian was leading her to their bed, his eyes darkened with pure love and his arms locked around her. She could already feel her desire burning in her lower stomach, and she bit her lip as he was asking in a raspy voice.

"Second wedding night?"

He made her sit down on their sheets, and she answered playfully. "Technically speaking, the first one was a wedding morning." Seeing that he was looking at her in a falsely annoyed way, she added. "Second wedding night with pleasure, babe."

She leaned to press her mouth against his, and they spent the night promising that they would love each other for the rest of eternity, other than with words this time.

* * *

They were vaguely exhausted but deeply happy when they headed for the dining room to share breakfast with her parents the next morning. The day of their wedding had been pretty eventful to say the least, and they hadn't really taken the time to rest during the night either, just wanting to enjoy each other as much as they possibly could. They had simply stayed in each other's arms in between their moments of love, trying to catch their breaths and thinking about their luck to have found each other.

They joined Snow, David and Henry downstairs, yawning at how tired they were and hand in hand because they just couldn't let go. Her mother smiled at them, seeming slightly amused by how exhausted they looked as David was obviously a little bit embarrassed, but none of them made any kind of comment. They just asked what they wanted to eat for breakfast, and normally started with their meal, as they both just couldn't stop looking at each other.

Emma was so focused on Killian that she didn't even notice how happy her parents seemed right away. They were almost bouncing up and down on their seats, she realized after a while, and this intrigued her for a moment before she decided that it was all probably because of the wedding. Everything had gone so incredibly well, and they could see that she was immensely happy to be married to the man she loved. The kingdom was calm too, Regina hadn't come to ruin their day, and everything was perfectly peaceful. They had many reasons to be smiling that big, and she then tried not to pay attention to Snow and David's strange behavior.

She only understood what all of this was about as she was finishing her plate. Her mother started to speak, saying out of the blue "We have a surprise for you."

"A surprise?" Emma repeated, wondering what it could possibly be this time. She absently thought that she probably had to get used to this, given how her parents seemed to love offering them things ever since they'd all come to live at the castle.

"A wedding gift, actually." David nodded with a smile. "Henry, this is for you, too."

"But you've already organized the entire ceremony." Emma protested. "You didn't need to give us anything else. This was more than enough."

"Oh, but you're going to like it." Snow chuckled slightly.

"What is it?" Henry asked then, grinning widely as Killian and Emma were sharing a glance.

"Come with us, you'll see."

The royal couple stood up, looking vaguely excited about this, but Emma could also read a little bit of nervousness in their eyes. Henry didn't wait to follow them, as always very impatient to know more when it came to surprises. She interlaced her fingers with Killian's, and he shrugged as she was throwing him another questioning look. He had obviously no idea of what was going on either, and he seemed a little bit worried about all of this as well, because they really had no clue of what her parents had in mind.

She however forced herself to relax a bit, helped by the touch of her husband's hand in hers. Her parents' surprises had always been excellent ones, and she could tell that she was going to like this. She just had to get used to all these nice intentions after being mistrustful of everything for so long. She was aware that she still had to work in order to bring those huge walls down, but she was making progress, and trusting David and Snow on this was definitely an important step to take. So she ended up following them too, and tried to stop wondering so much. She would know soon enough, anyway.

They went up the stairs that led to the first floor in silence, walking passed their room without stopping. Her parents brought them to another staircase without saying a word, but she could see that they were exchanging happy looks every few seconds. They followed them to the second floor, more and more puzzled as they were entering another hallway.

Emma obviously knew the castle pretty well given all the time she'd already spent there, as it'd been almost a year since she'd first stepped into this place. But she had to admit that the palace was so big, she probably hadn't seen half of it yet. She'd only been in the few rooms that they would use all the time, but she was well aware that there was still so much more to see. Snow and David were actually taking them to a part of their home that she had never seen before, and she really had no idea of where they were going with this.

The sounds of their steps were muffled by the beautiful rugs covering the floor. Finally, after a while, her parents stopped in front of a huge door, standing in the back of a long corridor. It was closed and she couldn't see what was behind it yet, and she wondered for a minute what was awaiting for them there. But Snow and David turned to them then, and her mother said, looking a bit nervous and biting her lower lip as she was talking.

"Before we show you anything, we want you to know that you're not forced to accept this at all if you don't think that this is a good idea. It has to be your choice, okay?"

"You do know that we can't actually refuse anything if we don't know what this is about, right?" Emma gently teased, trying to make her mother smile.

"I'm sure that we're going to love it." Killian added with a little grin to reassure the couple.

It made David return his smile, and he seemed to relax just a little bit. Without adding anything else, he finally moved to open the door leading to something they still couldn't see, and he gestured for them to go in. Her hand was still linked to Killian's and, Henry walking behind them, they entered the mysterious room there. She raised her eyebrows, intrigued and still not really understanding what was going on. The situation was surprising, to say the least.

They were indeed now standing in what seemed to be a living room. A huge fireplace was opening not far from them, and was surrounded by welcoming couches with colorful pillows displayed on them. In another corner, dozens of beautiful books were placed on several huge shelves, and she saw Henry approaching them curiously to go read the titles of these novels that he didn't know.

She was very confused. She had expected to find an object behind this closed door, anything really, but this was just an ordinary room. She still knew that there had to be a very good reason for her parents to have brought them into this part of the palace that she'd never seen before. She turned to them then, as they were still standing near the door and were looking at them nervously. She opened her mouth to ask what this was all about, but she suddenly got interrupted by her own thoughts.

Her eyes fell on a corner of the living room, and she blinked in surprise. There was an actual kitchen there, with everything they could possibly need to cook a meal, as well as a wooden table with six chairs spread around it. Three doors were also opening in the walls, leading to other rooms that she couldn't see very well given the darkness surrounding them. She could still guess that these were actually bedrooms, as she was able to see the outlines of the beds placed in there.

And then, she finally understood.

Her parents were offering them their own apartment.

She shook her head, not really believing in this conclusion yet because this was too crazy to be true, and she met Killian's eyes to try and guess what he was thinking about all of this. She could tell that he'd realized what was happening too now, because he seemed as awestruck as she was. She didn't know what to say at all, and she wondered if she wasn't simply making false assumptions about the situation. Seeing that they had finally grasped everything though, Snow started to talk again, her voice almost shy as she was saying.

"These apartments have been vacant for years. We barely ever use this part of the castle anymore, since we've always been used to eating in the big dining room all together. But you weren't raised this way and we know that you miss your intimacy sometimes. So we thought that this could help. You have everything you need to live here. You have a kitchen, and we'll ask for the employees to bring you food if you wish to cook some things yourselves. There is a door nearby to go out to the gardens, and you only have to walk a bit to come to the library or the training room that you already know."

"The other apartments around were once inhabited by a few employees that came to live with their family here a long time ago." David continued. "There are however all empty now. You'll have this part of the castle entirely to yourselves. We would of course love for you to still come and share meals with us from time to time, but we thought that you would probably like your own little place, since it is what you've been used to before coming here. There's a room for Henry, one for you, a storeroom and two bathrooms. We tried to do everything for you to be comfortable here… if you want to move in here, of course.

Emma only had to share a brief look with her son, who was grinning from ear to ear, and one with Killian as his eyes were shining with pure joy, to know exactly what their answer was going to be. This felt like a dream, and this was so unexpected she wanted to pinch herself to make sure that she wasn't actually imagining all of this. She liked living in the castle, for sure. She liked her new friends and spending time with her parents. But she was missing these times on the Jolly Roger, just Killian, Henry and her. And Snow and David were now giving them the amazing opportunity to find this back, and to have everything.

She didn't answer anything out loud, because she didn't even know what to say. So instead, she approached both her parents to wrap her arms around them and hug them tightly. This gift was touching her so much, because it meant that she could find her little family back, while still being able to be with Snow and David. She didn't have to run away ever again, because this was the perfect solution to all of their problems.

Her reaction made her father laugh slightly as her mother was sighing in relief. "Is that a yes?" Snow asked in a low voice

"Of course, it's a yes." Emma murmured, a bit stunned and so deeply happy. "I don't even know what to say. Thank you so much. It really means a lot."

They both simply held her a bit closer to them, looking very touched by her joy as well. She still just couldn't believe that this was all real and she actually felt a bit dizzy with how surprised she was. Snow and David quickly showed them around the apartment when they pulled away from her, and she finally realized that it was soon going to be theirs, truly. There was a big bedroom for her and Killian, a slightly smaller one for Henry, and another that would be used for storage, as her father had told them before. A fire was burning in the chimney, and everything was comfortable, welcoming and colorful.

It felt like home.

This was the best gift Emma could ever have imagined for them. She was a princess now, even if it was still hard to fully realize it sometimes, but her parents were now giving her the opportunity to live normally with her husband and son, like an ordinary family. They could cook their own food and simply be together, just like they'd done before. Snow had been raised as a royal, she'd always been used to having her meals cooked for her, to being dressed and being taken care of, but this wasn't Emma's case. She truly missed her independence sometimes, even if she'd never said it out loud.

But everything was simply perfect now.

They all were so surprised that they didn't even know how to react. They just thanked Snow and David hundreds of times, until they laughed and told them that it was enough, and that it was their pleasure to offer this to them. Henry seemed so happy to find this balance back with his parents, and was looking all around the place, as if he wanted to make sure that all of this was real.

They just couldn't wait to be all together again, and they decided to move in that same night.

Her parents and some of the employees helped them to carry all their belongings to this new apartment after dinner, and amazingly quickly, they were all ready to settle in and make this their new home. Snow and David kissed them goodbye, looking genuinely glad but also slightly sad that they were so far from them now. They were living in the same castle, but this was definitely a big change, and Emma promised them that they would come and share at least one meal a day all together. She didn't want to break this new relationship that they were slowly building with each other. They could have everything, this big family and their own place, and she swore that they were going to be very happy there.

And soon, they found themselves alone in this new apartment where they could build their marriage and find each other again. Henry didn't take long to fall asleep that evening, excited to spend his first night in this new room that was now all his. And she was left alone with Killian in the living room as the night had settled in, smiling up at him as their hearts seemed to be beating in unison. He looked at her with so much love she felt the familiar butteflies in her stomach again, and he wrapped both his arms around her waist to bring her close.

"This feels like a dream." He said in a whisper, looking so incredibly happy.

"It really does. Our weddings, this apartment… This is just perfect." She answered, her own arms around his neck as she was watching him.

"And I do plan on fully enjoying our first night here, my love." He teased then, leaning to kiss her lips.

It made her laugh and she led him to their new room, closing the door with her foot because she didn't want to pull away from him even for a second. They wholly enjoyed this huge bed that was now theirs that night – several times. And as she couldn't help but let go of a little moan of pleasure, she thanked the gods that Henry's room was on the other side of the apartment, and that he could fortunately not hear them. This was definitely a very good way to start their lives as a married couple, lives that would be filled with all these wonderful things she couldn't even imagine yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked this chapter! Thanks again for all the support!


	30. Chapter 30

Lying down in the big bed of their room and snuggled up with Killian, Emma was watching the sun slowly rising in the sky outside. It was going to be a beautiful day, she could already guess it at the gorgeous light that was coming through the window to gently enlighten the room. She was awake for a little while already, but she didn't really want to fall back asleep, despite how tired she actually was. She felt so good there, against her husband and feeling his peaceful breath in her neck and his arms protectively locked around her. She was happy and relaxed, and she could have spent her entire life simply watching the nature awakening outside, as she was still in her own little bubble of amazing happiness.

Killian moved a little bit in his sleep, and he wrapped his arms a bit tighter around her without even realizing it, what made her smile widely. She loved how he always wanted to bring her closer, even when he was fast asleep. She glued her back to his bare chest and waited for a second, listening to his breathing and slightly worried that he was already awake, too. It was so early, and he needed to rest. But he was still sound asleep, and she sighed as she was burying herself a bit deeper into his embrace. She couldn't have wished for a better way to wake up.

She gently placed her left hand over his right one, staring at their wedding bands shining together in the dim light of dawn. Their rings would always touch when they would hold hands now, and the feeling would make her heart flutter every single time. This was the symbol of their happiness, of their promise to always be there for each other no matter what the future held for them. She smiled at their incredible luck, and sighed once again, letting his touch and scent invade her completely.

They were officially married for a few days now, and it was the third night they were spending in this new apartment that had very quickly become a home for them. They would of course continue to share some of their meals with Snow and David at least once a day, but Chiara would come every evening to make sure that they had all the food they needed in case they ever wanted to make themselves something. And they'd enjoyed this possibility of cooking all together a few times already, simply marveling at the fact that they didn't have to ration their parts anymore, like they'd always had to do on the Jolly Roger. They could eat whatever they wanted, and she knew that she would never take that for granted after everything they'd been through to survive.

And they would spend so much time together, too. In between all of her lessons, they would come back to this amazing place, and just be with one another for a little while. They could talk and laugh for hours about anything, but they sometimes wouldn't even speak at all and would simply spend their time in a pleasant silence on the pillows of the couches, reading a book and enjoying this incredible peacefulness. She'd found her boys back, and they now had this innocence that they'd never really been able to enjoy before.

They had never been this blissfully happy.

They were in this stable situation in which they didn't have to fight in order to survive, but they had their intimacy back and could just be a normal family again. They'd found their balance so quickly thanks to this opportunity that they had to live all together again. And surprisingly enough, Emma seemed to be growing even closer to her parents, as if being with them a bit less frequently were allowing her to accept them more easily.

She was still taking her horseback riding classes with David, and her sword fighting ones with Killian. The Blue Fairy was coming from time to time to give her magic lessons as well, and she could feel that she was slowly becoming very good at all three of these things. Her confidence was growing, as she was beginning to believe Killian when he would tell her that she could do anything. In addition to all of that, the kingdom was so calm it felt almost surreal. Regina hadn't attacked since this episode at the marketplace, and it had been months now. It was as if she were scared of Emma, and were truly hesitating to show herself again.

This was the perfect time to go on their honeymoon.

They hadn't talked about this possibility of going away just the two of them yet, but it seemed absolutely obvious to her. It was the tradition in this world, and she really wanted to spend some time alone with her husband after their wedding, to celebrate their union and fall a little bit deeper in love with him again.

She knew that this plan was slightly complicated to accomplish, though. They would need to talk to Henry about it before doing anything else, because he'd never been away from them for so long, and she wanted him to be sure that they weren't letting him down, and that he had people to take care of him in the castle while they were gone. She just wanted her little boy to be happy, always, and she knew that if he wasn't agreeing with this, they wouldn't even think about this idea anymore.

They also needed to discuss this with her parents, because they'd gone away a lot these past few weeks, and the kingdom was still in danger even if it was invisible for now. She wasn't sure that they would think that it was such great thing to go on a trip again, given the difficult circumstances they were in.

But the prospect of spending all this time with Killian was chasing all her concerns away. She loved him so much, and she would have wanted to spend every minute of her life with him. And as she was still lying there in his arms, she thought about what they could do during this trip. Moments just the two of them, long kisses, dinner dates and passionate nights. And she smiled, because it seemed so perfect she just wanted it to become real.

Killian began to slightly shift behind her again, telling her that he was slowly waking up from his sleep. His breathing grew a bit faster, and she took his hand in hers, interlacing their fingers together. She pushed herself a bit more against him then, gently teasing him, and he let go of a little moan that made her laugh out loud. Finally, he leaned to kiss her neck in a sweet gesture, and he said in a voice still a bit raspy with sleep.

"You can't do that this early in the morning, Swan."

"Why not?" She chuckled, feeling in a playful mood.

"Because I won't be able to stop myself from kissing you everywhere, and we both know where it's going to lead us."

"I don't see a problem with that." She replied, biting her lower lip in expectation. She continued to push herself against his most sensitive part, and he growled once again as his arousal was very obvious to the both of them now.

"You'll be the death of me, woman."

She giggled as an answer and he kissed the thin skin of her neck again, so passionately that she was the one to sigh in pleasure this time. His tongue played there for a while, and she enjoyed the very pleasant sensation, her eyes closed and their hands still interlaced. When he pulled away, she turned in his arms to be able to see him and she smiled, running her fingers through his messy hair. She pressed a little peck on his lips and was expecting him to deepen the kiss as usual, but he suddenly stopped to look at her.

She needed a second to understand that he'd just noticed the dark circles that were spreading under her eyes. It was nothing that surprising since she hadn't slept much for the past few nights, and for a very good reason, but she couldn't even feel bad about her exhaustion. Being sleep deprived was worth it if it meant that she could be with him as much as possible. It seemed to worry him though, because his expression suddenly turned serious. He frowned a little bit and his fingers stroked her spine as he was asking softly.

"Are you alright, love? Didn't you get any sleep?"

"I'm fine, babe, don't worry." She reassured him immediately, smiling to stress her words because he really had nothing to be concerned about. "I promise. I just don't want to sleep anymore, if it makes sense. I want to enjoy this happiness every second of every day."

"Aye, me too." He admitted in a low voice, kissing her forehead in a sweet gesture. "Now, tell me, my love. What is going through this beautiful mind of yours when you're not sleeping?"

"Well, I did think about something a bit special." She confessed with a grin, thinking about this honeymoon that she'd pictured in her head. "Wanna hear about it?"

"Of course I do, lass."

"Okay, then." She began, already knowing that he was very obviously going to love her idea. "I was actually thinking that it would maybe be a good time for us to go on our honeymoon, what do you say?"

He stayed silent for a few seconds after her statement, what intrigued her a little bit, because she'd expected an immediate reaction. She looked up at him to meet his gentle gaze, as he was staring at her intensely. A bit taken aback by how quiet he was being, she added to explain her thoughts, even if she didn't really need to because he already knew exactly what was going on in her head, as always.

"The kingdom is calm and everything is going quite well for a while, now. My parents can take care of Henry for a few days, even if we have to ask him what he thinks about this first. But I thought that we could spend a bit of time together, just the two of us, to celebrate our wedding."

He finally answered this time. Not with words though, but with a passionate kiss that made her moan at how strong and powerful it was. She opened her mouth to allow his tongue to enter, and they stayed for a very long time like this, as his hand was coming up to play with her hair. When he pulled away minutes later, trying to catch his breath, he murmured against her mouth with a gorgeous smile on his face.

"It would be the greatest honor to spend these few days with you, Emma. You make me the happiest man on earth, you know that, aye?"

"You know that a simple yes would have sufficed, right?" She gently teased him, smiling so big because of his answer. "You always need to make these big speeches. Not that I don't like it, though. You know that I have a thing for how good you are with words."

"I'm glad that you appreciate them, Swan, because I plan on doing this a lot. And I always need this when it comes to you, my love, because simple words could never express just how much I love you."

It made her blush slightly and she leaned to press a much more gentle kiss on his lips again. She knew that he was the best man, husband and father for their son she could ever have imagined, and she couldn't have been happier to be able to spend the rest of her life by his side. He was so loving, kind, strong, determined to protect those he loved, she was still falling in love with him a bit more with each passing moment. She only pulled away again after a few seconds, her hand still in his hair, and she said in a low voice.

"I love you, too. Do you really want to do this, then?"

"Are you joking?" He said with a huge grin. "Of course I want to, love. This is going to be perfect, and I can't wait to spend all the time in the world with you."

"We'll have to talk about this with Henry, though." She added, still smiling because of his adorable statement. "I don't want him to feel bad about this. He's never been away from us for so long before, and if he doesn't want us to do this, I don't ever want to make him miserable."

"I'm certain that the lad will be happy for us, Swan." He kindly reassured her. "He adores his grandparents, and he won't be bothered by this idea. He knows that we're not letting him down and that we just want to celebrate our wedding. He'll agree with this, I'm sure of it."

It comforted her a bit, and she soon had to admit that he hadn't been wrong. They decided to talk about their idea to Henry that same morning, as they were sitting around the breakfast table, just the three of them. They'd prepared eggs together, and it was truly pleasing her to eat some food that they had cooked themselves, just like they used to on the Jolly Roger. They really were a normal family now, and she felt like all her worries about being a princess had faded away when they'd moved in this apartment.

She was slightly nervous as she was eating though, not really knowing what her son's reaction would be like. Killian felt it right away, and he gently placed his hand on her thigh from underneath the table, stroking it with his thumb in a comforting gesture. She knew that he was encouraging her to talk, so she started immediately, trying to stay as calm as possible in order not to worry her little boy.

"We actually wanted to talk to you about something, if it's okay with you, kid."

"It's about your honeymoon, isn't it?" He guessed as if it were the obvious.

His question left her speechless for a second. She heard Killian chuckling beside her as he just couldn't believe this either. She definitely hadn't expected that to happen, but Henry seemed to find everything absolutely normal, as if he'd thought about this possibility of them going away for a little bit since they'd got engaged. He had the biggest smile on his face, and he shrugged as both his parents were still staring at him.

"Don't look so surprised. I knew that you were going to go on your honeymoon, it's a tradition for every married couple here."

"But… are you okay with that?" Emma stuttered a bit, still so taken aback she wasn't sure of what to do anymore.

"Of course I'm fine with this. Why wouldn't I be?" He asked, obviously a bit puzzled by her question.

"We just don't want you to feel left out." Killian gently explained, smiling at their son's answer. "We wanted to talk to you about this before doing anything, because we never wish to do something that could make you sad. This has to be your decision, too."

"I would never think that this is a bad idea!" Henry said, looking at them like he just couldn't believe that they'd been worried about that even for a second. "How could I be anything but happy for you? I have Grandma and Grandpa to take care of me while you're gone, anyway. And you love each other so much, you deserve to celebrate your wedding. And Mom… I was still very small, but I can remember how you were like before Dad came into our lives. You barely ever smiled, except when you were with me. You seemed sad all the time, and now you're finally happy. You too, Dad. You both need to spend some time together now, and I'm certainly not going to refuse this to you, because I think that this is a wonderful idea."

Emma bit her lower lip, trying to hold her tears back at Henry's statement. She realized just how much her little boy had grown up then, and it truly moved her. It felt like it was only yesterday that she could hold him in the crook of her arm and sing him a lullaby so he would fall asleep at night. And now he was becoming the most caring, incredible young man, and she felt like her heart could burst at how much she loved him.

She stood up from her chair to approach him, needing to feel him close after this very powerful moment. She took him in her arms and he hugged her back, still smiling widely. She dropped a kiss to his hair and whispered to his ear, her voice a bit muffled by the emotion.

"I'm so proud of you, kid."

As an answer, he only held her a bit closer for a while, truly touched by his mother's words.

* * *

"Emma, Killian! Why is this even a question?" Snow cried out, smiling and her hands on her hips as she was trying to look falsely mad. "Of course we agree with you going on your honeymoon!"

"It's about time." David added, nodding and grinning at his wife's words. "We were actually wondering when you would finally talk to us about it."

Emma shared a surprised, but deeply happy smile with Killian. After talking with Henry that same morning, they'd met her parents in the gardens of the castle, to enjoy the sun and ask them what they were thinking about this idea as well. They knew that they wouldn't refuse anything, because they'd accepted this other trip that they'd taken on the Jolly Roger a few weeks previous to that moment, but they had been a bit worried to hear them say that this wasn't the right time to go. Regina wasn't attacking anymore, but it was just even more concerning, because it meant that she really was planning something big that they still knew nothing about.

But Snow and David both looked absolutely ecstatic, and her mother added happily. "We'll take care of Henry while you're gone, don't you worry."

"I'm sure that we're going to have a lot of fun." David winked at his grandson, as they were both very close and always loved spending time together.

"Of course, we are." Henry answered cheerfully. "Mom and Dad can go in peace, everything is going to be great."

"Do you already know when and where you want to go?" Snow asked impatiently, as if she couldn't wait to know everything about their trip.

Killian and Emma shared another look, both shrugging at the same time as they were as always holding hand all while talking with the royal couple. She realized then that they hadn't even talked about the details of this honeymoon, because they'd been too busy hoping that their family would be okay with it to do anything else. They didn't really need to have a discussion about it, though. They both had the exact same idea in mind, and her husband started to talk again, chuckling slightly.

"As strange as it may sound, the idea came to us this morning and we didn't talk about anything yet. We wanted to know if you were agreeing with us first."

'But we would like to go as soon as possible. We're pretty impatient." Emma added, kindly nudging Killian's shoulder, what made him laugh again.

"That we are, darling."

"Well, in that case, we might have a place that could interest you." Snow suddenly said with a mysterious smile that intrigued Emma quite a bit.

"What do you mean?"

Even if they hadn't had a conversation about this yet, she knew that they were going to take the Jolly Roger to go on this trip together. It was so obvious, she hadn't even thought about another possibility. They had built their relationship on this ship, they had raised their son there and she had seen their tears, their doubts, their joys and all their moments of happiness. She had been their home and she was also the place where they'd got engaged. She had always had a very special place in their hearts, so this wasn't even a question, they would take her to live this little adventure together.

Emma didn't really know what to answer to her mother, and she could see that Killian was pretty confused as well. Snow didn't seem to notice their reactions, though. She looked very excited about this offer that she wanted to make, and they let her continue without interrupting, a bit curious to know more despite everything.

"Let's say that David and I have inherited my father's house, and we spent our own honeymoon there. It's peaceful and there's nothing much around, only the woods and a few small villages. You'll have everything you need there, and it's a such gorgeous place, you'll see."

"Well, that's sweet, but..." Emma started, before suddenly stopping in the middle of her sentence, because she was a bit scared to hurt her mother's feelings with her words. She glanced at Killian and he understood her silent request for help, continuing very kindly and trying not to upset anyone.

"We didn't really talk about it together yet, but we know that we want to have this honeymoon on our ship. She has been a home for us for a long time, and she's very dear to our hearts."

Snow's expression changed for a split second as she looked vaguely disappointed by the answer, but she very quickly tried to smile again, even though it didn't reach her eyes. David seemed pretty saddened by their decision as well, and Emma's heart tightened at their expressions. Killian gave her hand a gentle squeeze to comfort her as Snow was saying, trying to sound reassuring.

"Of course, we understand. It's your trip, it has to be your choice."

"Look, I may have an idea." Emma then said, trying to find something and make everyone happy. "We could get the Jolly Roger to the closest harbor and stop at your house for the night, if you tell us where it is."

"Absolutely." Killian nodded, obviously agreeing with the idea. "We can't miss this opportunity, can we?"

Snow and David immediately regained their smiles at their words, and Emma knew that they'd made the right choice. Spending a bit of time in this unknown place could be quite fun too, and she was so impatient to live all these wonderful moments with her husband. Killian wrapped his arm around her waist to hold her close, and he leaned to press a little kiss to her temple, as her parents were looking at them with tenderized grins. There was a second of silence, then Snow said in awe.

"You really are adorable. I'm so happy that you two found each other."

"We're very happy, too." Killian replied immediately, what made Emma smile widely.

Given how full of love her life was now, it was hard to believe that barely a few years before that, she was a single mom who was working her life away to try and offer a decent life to her son. She'd been so closed off to love, mistrustful and broken by life. And now her little boy had a father that she loved beyond words, she was surrounded, she'd found her parents and her scars were slowly but surely healing. She was sometimes still feeling like all of this was a dream, at how absolutely perfect it was.

She snuggled a bit more against Killian and he buried his face in her hair to breathe her in, silently promising her that this happiness would last forever.

* * *

"See you in a week, Mom." Henry stated with a smile as Emma was wrapping her arms around him for a hug. "Have fun."

"We will. See you soon, kid." She replied, kissing the top of his head. "Be good while we're gone, alright?"

"You know me, I'm always good." He said teasingly, pulling away to be able to look at her.

"True." She winked kindly at his joke.

She looked at him walking away from her to go share a goodbye hug with his dad as well, and she tried to hold back her tears of emotion. She couldn't wait to go on this adventure with Killian and share all these moments with him, but she'd never left Henry for so long before and her heart was breaking a little bit at the thought. She knew that everything was going to be just fine and that her son was in good hands with her parents, but it was still slightly painful to walk away from him like that.

Her little boy didn't seem to share her concerns, though. He looked really calm about all of this, and was genuinely happy that his parents had the chance to live these moments just the two of them. She watched Henry and Killian exchanging a few words, and her mother came to stand beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder. She seemed to be reading into her mind, and she said reassuringly.

"Don't you worry, honey. We'll take good care of him. Everything is going to be perfectly okay."

"I know." Emma sniffed discreetly, finding her own sadness a bit silly. This was just for a week and she knew that things would be alright in her absence. "I'm just gonna miss him."

"I can see that." Snow said kindly. "And I understand. But this trip is going to be simply perfect, and it's only for a few days, after all."

Emma nodded and finally smiled, well aware that her mother was absolutely right. She was worrying for nothing, and she really had to follow her son's example as he was still grinning widely. Henry would stay perfectly safe in the castle with her parents, and she could go and spend this wonderful week with her husband. She would build amazing memories and be able to spend every minute of the day with Killian. This was definitely a very good idea that they'd had, and she simply had to stop doubting so much.

Barely two days had passed since they'd decided to leave for their honeymoon, but they were already ready to go. They just hadn't wanted to wait before leaving. Their bags were already in the hold of the ship, and they were all good to go and live this wonderful trip.

Her parents and Henry had wanted to accompany them to the harbor to be able to wave them goodbye. The sun was shining brighty and it was pleasantly warm outside, the lights reflecting on the ocean and its gentle waves. Emma truly hoped that it would stay that way for the entirety of their trip, because she really wanted to spend all her time in the sun with her wonderful husband.

"Ready?" Killian approached her to wrap his arms around her waist and press a kiss to her forehead, as the time had come to leave the harbor.

"Ready." She nodded, but he could see how worried she still was without her having to say anything out loud.

He then leaned to reach her ear and murmured softly. "It's going to be okay, darling. The lad will be just fine, I promise."

"I know." She sighed, snuggling a bit closer to him. "I know I'm being silly. But it's the first time that we leave him for so long and I can't help but be a little worried."

"Always the protective mum, aren't we?" He gently teased her, what made her laugh at last.

"You're even worse than I am." She answered, playfully rolling her eyes.

"I won't lie and try to say that I'm not, because I know that you're right."

It made her chuckle again, and she looked up to press a little kiss on his lips as a quiet thank you for his words of encouragement. He always knew what she needed to hear, and she already felt so much better thanks to him. So, deciding that she really had to set her worry aside, she pulled away from her husband to go hug her family one last time. She kept Henry against her for a while, reminding him of how much she loved him, and he finally freed himself from her embrace to say, laughing at her behavior.

"Look, Mom, I know that you love me. But it really is time to go, now."

"Are you chasing me?" She teased, pretending to be offended by his words.

"Maybe. I mean, you can't possibly spend another hour simply saying goodbye. You need to go. It's just for a week. I'll be fine."

He raised his eyebrows in an expression that reminded her so much of Killian that she burst out laughing. Knowing that he was right, she then pressed one last kiss to his forehead and she took her husband's hand to finally go up the boarding ramp and start this amazing trip that they were taking together.

They only parted when they arrived on deck, and Killian went to stand at the helm while she was waving at their family until they had left the harbor. She was smiling, but she had tears in her eyes at the idea of leaving her son behind, even if it really didn't seem to bother him at all. She finally turned to Killian after a moment and she sniffed discreetly, trying to chase her sadness away to enjoy this moment fully.

"You okay, love?" He asked gently, gesturing for her to come and stand at the helm with him so she could navigate the ship as well.

She took a deep breath and grinned as he was gluing his chest to her back. She could feel the wind in her hair and his presence everywhere, and she finally felt completely better. Navigating the Jolly Roger had always managed to relax her, and the last bits of her worry disappeared as she was finally nodding.

"I'm fine. I'm really happy to be here with you."

"Me too, my darling." He murmured to her ear, making a pleasant shiver run up her spine. "I'm happier than I've ever been, and it's all thanks to you."

"Gods, I love you so much. I hope that you know that." She stated then, looking away from the sea and turning in his arms to be able to look into his eyes.

"Of course I know, Emma. And I love you too, beyond everything."

For a second, they forgot the blue immensity in their backs and they kissed and kissed until they couldn't breathe anymore. She tasted the salt on his lips and smelled the scent of leather on skin, and she thought that this week was really going to be perfect. They would stay together like this for days, never leaving each other, and she was certainly not going to complain about it. It was literally heaven.

* * *

"Wait." Emma whispered, grabbing Killian's collar as he was pulling away from her.

"What?" He got surprised, offering her a questioning look because of her gesture.

She didn't give him any explanation and simply smirked at him, keeping her grip on his clothes. She then leaned to reach his lips and press a tender kiss on them, and he immediately embraced her to deepen their moment. Sitting on a table as he was standing up, she spread her legs so he could come closer to her, and his hand started to run up and down her back, before coming to cup her butt. They stayed like this for a while before finally pulling away, and he rested his forehead against hers, looking at her with a smile on his face as if she were his whole entire world.

They had barely left each other ever since they'd sailed away three days previous to that moment. Their days were punctuated by passionate kisses and intense embraces – and often a lot more - as they seemed even more in love than ever. That morning, they'd stopped their ship in the harbor of a city, and they'd come to search for the house her parents had told them about. They had walked for a long while through the forest to get to it, but they'd definitely thought that it was all worth it when they'd discovered the sight that was awaiting for them there.

The place was absolutely gorgeous, all surrounded by the thick forest and built on white pillars. Inside, the house was filled with sculptures and paintings, and was still lovely despite having been left almost abandoned for years. But better than any of these beautiful things, their surroundings were perfectly calm and peaceful. They were the only ones around there, as the nearest village was miles from their current location.

They'd fully enjoyed this opportunity of being all alone in the world for a few incredible hours.

They hadn't even bothered to take off the sheets that were covering the furniture so it wouldn't get too dusty. They'd christened most of the rooms of the huge house in a few hours, and even if she was feeling pretty sore, she couldn't wait to do this all over again with the love of her life.

The sun was slowly setting in the sky outside, as they'd planned on spending the night there. Emma was only half dressed, her legs still bare as she was running her hand through Killian's hair to try and bring him closer to her again. She wanted him so much, her desire was burning in the pit of her stomach and she had to hold herself back in order not to jump on him and start undressing him yet another time.

"Can you imagine that your parents have probably done the same thing that we're doing right now in this place?" Killian said out of the blue.

She made a face and gently smacked his shoulder as he was laughing out loud. "Why would you say that? That's gross. I really didn't need this image in my head, thank you very much. I mean, we're the same age, but they are still my parents."

She kept on pretending to be deeply offended for a few seconds, what made him chuckle again as his arms were still wrapped around her. She couldn't help but smile then, and she decided to play a bit with him after his last comment, pulling away as he was leaning to kiss her again. Her eyebrows raised, she said, shaking her head but smiling at the same time.

"I've lost all desire to do this, thanks to your lovely statement."

He smiled at that and replied with a little shrug. "Good, then. That's not what I meant, you know that." He added when he saw her outraged expression. "I'll always want you, not matter what. I just have something else planned for tonight."

"You have my attention." She grumbled, trying to seem falsely angry, but she knew that he really hadn't meant his last sentence that way, and she simply couldn't completely erase her grin from her face.

"You've brought a dress with you, right?"

They'd indeed decided to bring more formal clothes with them, in case they would find a village nearby to visit the next morning. She shrugged and answered. "Yeah, I had to drag it all the way here."

"Well, maybe your efforts will be rewarded, after all." He simply said mysteriously. "Would you mind going to put it on?"

"What do you have in mind?"

"You'll see, Swan." He simply replied with a smirk that made her roll her eyes but chuckle all at the same time.

He wrapped his arms a bit tighter around her and lifted her up from the table to place her back on the floor, pressing a little kiss on the tip of her nose and looking at her so lovingly her heart stuttered again. She took advantage of the fact he was looking at her to place herself on her tiptoe and kiss him senseless there, their bodies glued together. They shared this other intense moment for a while, but he ended up breaking the embrace with a little smile, that widened as she was groaning in protest. He gently made her turn until she was facing the staircase that was leading upstairs, and he whispered with laughter in his voice.

"Go get dressed, love, or we'll be late."

"Late for what?" She mumbled, as she would have wanted this moment with him to last for a bit longer.

"That's a surprise." He said, kissing the top of her head, then gently pushing her forward so she would start walking.

She finally listened to his request and walked to the room they'd chosen for the night. She was actually pretty intrigued about Killian's idea. It seemed important to him, and knowing how much he liked surprising her, he'd probably planned a romantic gateway yet another time.

She couldn't help but smile as she was quickly putting on her dress, wondering what was awaiting for her that evening. She looked at her reflection before leaving the room, finding the result pretty satisfying. The gown was dark red and long without being uncomfortable, and she knew that Killian loved this color on her. She just couldn't wait to go find him again, even if she'd left him for barely a few minutes.

She finally walked back downstairs, and called her husband to announce her presence. She heard steps coming in her direction and he appeared in the room she was now standing in, staying still for a while as he was staring at her. His expression of pure awe made her blush slightly, and she looked down with a little smile, smoothing her skirt and her heart pounding fast in her chest. After all these years, he still managed to make her feel the exact same way, and she felt so incredibly loved by his side that it seemed surreal sometimes.

He approached her after a second of silence, looking at her like she was the only woman he would ever see. She touched her wedding band, smiling almost shyly at him and realizing that he'd himself put on a more formal outfit, even if he was still wearing this leather that she loved so much. He came to take her in his arms, his hook coming to rest on the small of her back and his fingers playing with a strand of her blond hair. He then whispered, as if it were the very first time he was seeing her.

"You look absolutely gorgeous, Emma."

"You're not bad yourself." She replied, feeling her cheeks reddening a little bit more at his words.

He smiled at that and caught her lips for another kiss, his mouth going down her neck to suck at a particularly sensitive spot that he knew all too well. She moaned and gripped his shoulders for balance, thinking that he was definitely going to leave a mark there, but she couldn't have cared less. Eyes closed and head tilted back, she suddenly found it hard to breathe. They'd done this so many times in the years that they'd spent together, but she was sure that she would never stop feeling so amazingly dizzy every single time.

He pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth when he pulled away from her, then smiled and interlaced their fingers together. Their alliances touched and it made her feel so good she sighed in pure bliss. They really were married, and it was the best feeling in the enitre world. She was still feeling a bit giddy with all these kisses, and she let him lead her to the door of the house, an absent smile still dancing on her lips.

"Ready?" He asked as they were stepping outside.

"How could I be ready if I don't even know where we're going?" She teased, grinning at him and making him laugh.

"That's how surprises work, love. But I can promise you that you're going to like it."

"Color me intrigued." She said, then added more seriously. "And I trust you, always. So wherever we're going, I'm ready."

He seemed pretty happy with her answer, because he leaned to press another kiss to her hair, making her shiver pleasantly. It was nice outside, even if the sun was already disappearing in a gorgeous explosion of color, the wind was gentle and warm and she was feeling so good. They walked hand in hand, sometimes talking, sometimes sharing jokes and sometimes not saying anything at all, because they didn't even need words to understand each other anymore. They followed a little path through the woods for a while, before finally reaching a tiny village that had stayed hidden in between the trees until then.

Emma was truly surprised to find people there, since she'd thought that her parents' house was completely isolated. The town was small but absolutely lovely, and the atmosphere was so cheerful and welcoming it immediately made her smile. Lanterns were hanging above their heads, enlightening the place, and the inhabitants were joyfully talking and laughing with each other in the streets. A happy music played by a band was ringing in between the houses, very probably coming from the village square. Some people smiled at them when they saw them arriving, recognizing them as the prince and princess, and Emma answered them happily, so glad to find herself in this magical little village.

She leaned toward Killian as he was looking at her, seeming pretty proud of his surprise. "How do you know this place?"

"I know a lot of things." He answered, before adding as she was raising her eyebrows to ask for more information, not satisfied with his explanation. "I came here while you were sleeping earlier."

She frowned at that, truly taken aback. She'd taken a short nap that afternoon, exhausted by the activities they'd just finished, but she'd been so sure that he'd stayed beside her the entire time. She couldn't believe that she hadn't noticed his absence, and she asked, a bit confused.

"Wait, you left the house?"

"I did leave you a note so you wouldn't worry if you woke up." He defended himself immediately. "I wanted to find a very special place for our date night, and I met this beautiful village as I was walking through the woods. I thought that this was the perfect surprise."

She playfully rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she was saying. "I can't even be annoyed at you, because this idea is adorable. You're perfect, babe. I love this place."

"I was hoping that you would." He smiled at her, before adding more gently. "But just you wait, because you haven't seen everything yet. We're almost arrived to our final destination."

After a few more minutes, he indeed stopped in front of an establishment, much bigger than the small houses that were surrounding it. It was enlightened by dozens of colorful lights, and a wonderful smell was coming from the inside, announcing good food. When they entered, Emma realized that everyone seemed as happy as the people in the streets were, huge smiles dancing on every face around her. Noises of conversations were ringing against the walls, and it was obvious that if the place was well maintained, the prices were affordable for all the inhabitants of this lovely little town.

She turned to Killian, beaming at him as she was discovering his wonderful surprise. He didn't give her the time to ask him questions about what they were doing there though, because he leaned to gently peck her lips. She let him lead her by the hand again, deciding that she would know more soon enough and looking all around her, amazed by her surroundings.

People stared at them as they were walking passed the tables, but Emma could tell that it wasn't just because of the fact that they were the prince and princess of the most famous kingdom in the Enchanted Forest. They looked so in love, she knew how awestruck people always got when they would notice how much they loved each other. And she smiled, because she couldn't have wished to be anywhere else than right there, with the man who was her everything.

Killian went to talk to the owner of the place, with whom he seemed to be acquainted, and Emma guessed that it was probably all because her husband had asked him to book a table for them when he'd come that afternoon. The man brought them outside, leading them to a little patio that was a bit away from the bustle of the crowd inside. They could see the streets of the village and everything going on around them there, and the place was absolutely breathtaking, with pretty flowers coming down from the roof to surround the table waiting for them there. Killian pulled out a chair for her, and the owner promised them to come back with their dinner really soon as they were settling.

Emma immediately interlaced her fingers with Killian from above the tablecloth when he'd sat down as well, looking all around her in awe. The lights, the music, the laughter, all of this was making her feel like she was in the middle of a dream. This place felt like heaven, and she finally turned to look back at her husband as he hadn't stopped staring at her once, seeming pretty proud of his choice to bring her there.

"You're incredible." She stated in a low voice.

"You like it, then?" He asked, his little smile telling her that he already knew the answer to his question.

"A date in this magical little town? What is it not to like, here? This is perfect. Thank you, I love this idea."

"And I love you." He said, making her heart stutter. "There's no need to thank me, darling. You deserve all of this and more, and I promise that I'll try to make you this happy for the rest of eternity."

"I love you, too. And I promise you the exact same thing."

He brought her hand to his lips to press a little kiss on her knuckles, and they just got lost into each other's eyes for a little while, as everything was disappearing around them to only leave them and this endless, amazing love that they were feeling. They got snapped out of the moment by a waitress that came to place plates in front of them, wishing them a good night before walking back inside.

As Emma had already guessed it would, the food was absolutely delicious. Her heartbeats didn't slow down once, and the butterflies didn't leave her stomach as she was sharing this moment of pure happiness with the man she loved. She couldn't have been more thrilled that he'd brought her there, and she was truly relieved to notice that the fact they were known as royals wasn't keeping them from living this kind of peaceful and normal night out. They told each other their love several times during dinner, and shared a piece of cake for dessert, their smiles never leaving them. She was sure that she would remember this exact moment forever, and that she would cherish these memories for the rest of her life.

The sky had grown deeply darker by the time they got out of the restaurant, thanking the owner for this beautiful night. The streets were still animated despite the late hour and there were people everywhere around them, talking and laughing as Emma was slowly falling absolutely in love with this place. The band that they'd heard before was still playing their music in the square, and they walked to go get a closer look at what was going on there, joining the little crowd of people gathered around them. Some were simply listening, but some of them were clapping or dancing in rhythm with the music, encouraging the three men there to keep on playing.

Killian led her by the hand to the center of the square, getting to the improvised dance area that had formed there. He made her spin on herself and she laughed out loud, then he brought her close to press his forehead against hers in a tender gesture.

"Could I have this dance with you, milady?"

"It'd be my honor, captain." She answered in the same falsely formal tone, making him chuckle.

They danced for a long while, then ended up simply kissing in the middle of the crowd. The music suddenly stopped ringing in her ears as he was the only thing existing in the world anymore, and they stayed like this until they couldn't breathe and were feeling giddy with the endless adoration they had for each other.

* * *

"Ready, Swan?" Killian asked defiantly, not resisting the urge to tease his wife a little.

"Maybe you're the one who should get ready and brace yourself for this." Emma answered, being purposely cheeky. "I have to remind you that I almost beat you last time."

"That's the key word, love,  _almost_. You did not beat me yet."

"Don't underestimate me. This time will be the right one." Emma raised her eyebrows at him.

"I wouldn't dare, Swan. I know what you're capable of."

It made Emma grin widely, as she was as always very amused by their kind bickering. She positioned herself then, wielding her training sword in front of her as her husband was doing the same. They looked at each other intensely, little smirks dancing on their lips, and turned around each other in the hold of the ship for a few seconds. They were waiting to see who was going to attack first, and everything seemed to stop around them as they were completely focused on the moment.

She finally decided to act after a while, and she tried to take Killian by surprise. She stepped froward, as quickly as she possibly could, but he'd seen her coming before she'd had the chance to do anything. He was an expert in this, after all. He countered her attack as if it'd been nothing and tried to strike with his own sword, as he very well knew that he couldn't hurt her, since their weapons weren't sharpened for the exercise. Far from being discouraged by her failed try, she amenably turned on her hips and avoided the blow, straightening again and still grinning from ear to ear.

Their trip was going to end soon, as they'd planned on going back home two days after that moment. The time they'd spent together had already been more than perfect, and she wasn't even sure that there were words to express the way she was feeling with this wonderful man. After sharing dinner in that lovely village the other night, they'd slept in her parents' house before coming back to the Jolly Roger. They were now lost in the middle of the ocean, and they'd anchored their ship to indulge in one of their favorite things : sword fighting together.

Emma hadn't wanted for her lessons to stop during their honeymoon, and she was actually getting good at this now. She'd worked hard to get where she was, and she was pretty proud of herself. She was slowly becoming as skilled as Killian already was in this, but she still hadn't managed to beat him once since he'd stopped holding himself back. He was really good at this, despite the fact that he only had one good hand, and she admired him a lot. She knew that she was learning from the best, and these classes with him felt like a true blessing.

Their lessons together would always leave them sweaty and panting, as they were trying to catch their breath in the hold of the ship. Despite their kind teasing, Emma knew that Killian was truly impressed by the huge progress she'd made in such little time. And she was really happy to know that he was fighting like he would have done with any other combatants, now that he could see that she was getting better and better at this. She loved that, and she never wanted to stop working to develop these wonderful skills even more.

Her ponytail hit her shoulders and her tunic wrapped around her legs as she was avoiding another one of Killian's attacks. He took a few steps back, staying still for a second all while looking at her. She was ready for him when he came back, his sword ready to hit her in the chest. Once again, she felt really happy that they weren't in danger of harming each other and that they didn't have to hold back from fear of hurting the other. They just had to focus on what they were doing, and she felt like it was the best way to learn.

She only reacted when it was almost too late, trying to unbalance him with this strategy, and she threw herself on the ground, rolling froward before standing back on her feet. The action had lasted for a split second, and she was already ready to strike again when she turned toward her husband. Killian took one more instant to get back up, but it was too short for her to really have the time to do anything. She still tried to get him in the back, but missed as he was turning back to her. They started to turn around the room again, staring at each other and sweat already covering their foreheads.

"Attacking someone's back is treacherous, love."

"You should know better than turning your back to an adversary." She replied with a little smile. "That was your own fault."

"Except that I trust you, you're my wife."

Her smile widened and she bit her lower lip to try and stay focused. Killian absolutely loved pronouncing this word, as if he could still hardly believe that they'd really got married after all. He'd probably said that to try and unsettle her though, she knew it, and she chuckled at his try. It still made her feel so special and loved to hear him say those things, as always when he would call her that way. However, refusing to give him the advantage, she replied.

"I thought we agreed on the fact that when we're training, we're not a couple. We're just opponents. But that was a nice try, Jones. I won't let myself get distracted, though."

"That would have been a pity not to at least try." He shrugged, smiling as well.

"Ah, point for you. I should have tried the same thing,  _husband_ "

He raised his eyebrows again and she knew that he was going to attack before he even started to move. She could read it in his eyes and so she waited, ready when he finally came to her. Once again, she waited for the last moment before moving, but he'd anticipated her try to make him lose his balance this time. He turned to her, his sword wielded, and she had no other choice but to use her own weapon and counter the attack. The noise of the steel clashing rang against the walls as they were staying still for a while, looking at each other. At the exact same time, they took their swords back and started to move again.

He didn't give her the time to rest. He tried to strike again a second later, but she managed to stop him from doing anything. They shared a happy smile, their chests quickly moving at the effort they had to make. Their weapons clashed a few more times before Killian faked trying to hit her right side to distract her, changing his trajectory at the very last moment to take her by surprise. She only stepped back when it was almost too late, what made him lose his balance for the first time. He stumbled forward, and she saw there an opportunity she just couldn't miss.

She spun on herself to get to his back, and she wrapped one arm around his throat, gluing the harmless blade to the thin skin there. Killian seemed truly taken aback by the twist the situation had just taken. He was such a good fighter, and he knew that she'd just beaten him, for real. It was the first time this happened, and she felt the pride swelling in her chest. His body was against hers and she just couldn't resist the urge of bragging a little bit about her accomplishment, because this was such a huge step she'd taken in her leaning process. She then leaned to his ear and whispered.

"I won."

He didn't answer anything at first, but she could feel how fast his chest was still moving as he was trying to catch his breath after this intense moment. She couldn't see his face though, and she had no idea of what he was truly thinking about all of this. She thus gently let him go, placing the sword back on the floor and ready to ask him if everything was alright now that the fight was over.

He however didn't give her the time to say anything.

He let his own weapon fall on the ground as he was turning to face her, so quickly that it made her blink in surprise. He then grabbed her waist and suddenly smashed his mouth against hers for a passionate kiss that made her moan against his lips, as she was gripping his shoulders to try and keep her balance. His hand spread wide in her back and they kissed for minutes or maybe hours, she just couldn't tell anymore. When he pulled away from her, she was a little bit dizzy and he didn't let her go while he was saying against her skin, as if he just never wanted to pull away ever again.

"You beat me."

"Did you ever doubt I would?" She teased, panting a bit, but he looked absolutely serious as he was answering.

"No, believe me, I never doubted that for a second. You're absolutely brilliant, and I knew that this day would come soon. I'm just… I'm really proud of you. You're amazing."

He approached her once again for another kiss, obviously needing to feel her close and she could feel how quick his heartbeats were as she was against him. He really seemed completely awestruck with what had just happened, and she could guess how much he wanted her, right there on that moment. She fully enjoyed his embrace, moaning as his kisses were going down to attack her cleavage. Then she said, her own heart pounding so fast in her chest at all the incredible things he was making her feel.

"I'm glad you're happy about it."

"You're amazing." He simply repeated against her skin. "You'll never cease to impress me."

He told her these same little words over and over again, as if he wanted to make sure that she knew he was being completely sincere. He kept on whispering this to her like a prayer as he was helping her getting rid of her clothes, so they could finally become one. Her tunic and leather pants fell on the floor, and she tugged at his belt to encourage him to do the same, always faster because she felt like she could burn from how much she wanted him.

He repeated his sentence again, his mouth against hers as he finally had access to her naked breast. He held her so lovingly and kissed every inch of her body, worshiping her as if she were a real goddess. And when her hand came down to wrap around the place where he needed her the most, he said it a bit louder, panting and his eyes closed to enjoy her touch.

_You're amazing. I love you so much._

He was everywhere and knew exactly where he needed to go to make her come faster. Because of this, she was already on the edge of her orgasm before he even entered her completely. He didn't give her what she wanted right away though, slowing down their game as they were leaning against a wall for balance. He took his sweet time to tease her, bringing her to her last limits then stopping at once when he felt her about to come.

She groaned every single time, but she refused to beg him to go any faster. He swallowed her moans with his mouth and kissed her again and again, making her gasp for air and want for more. Then, finally, he decided to stop his games and he lifted her up from the ground, his arms underneath her butt to carry her. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he was pressing her against the wall, and she buried her face in the crook of his neck, trying to not turn crazy at what he was making her feel. Her nails dug into his skin there, leaving little red marks behind them, but he didn't even seem to feel it as he was staring at her.

He moved at last, the new angle finally making her reach the heights she'd been waiting for. She let go of a little cry, her head tilted back as she was grabbing him a bit tighter to try and stay sane. He came at the same instant, and he tried to keep her in his arms as they were both quivering, lost into the other and the fullness of the moment.

Her head was still spinning when he slowly placed her back down on the floor. She was shaking and trying to catch her breath, and he held her close to him as she was placing her head against his pounding heart. Sweat was covering their skin and hair, but they couldn't even notice it. All that existed were each other, and they were just trying to get as much of the moment as they possibly could.

"I love you." He whispered against her once again, his speech a bit slurred as if he were still drunk from his orgasm. "You're incredible, and I love you."

"I love you, too." She managed to answer, still trying to remember how to breathe.

She closed her eyes and smiled, still snuggled against him. These little words seemed to ring into the air and, still a bit stunned, she thanked all the gods she could think of on that moment, because she'd found this wonderful, loving, perfect man and she would never stop being grateful for him. They were husband and wife now, and were becoming a bit closer every day. This moment was her future, and she just couldn't wait to live it by his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for all the support once again guys, I hope that you liked this chapter!


	31. Chapter 31

The sun was shining bright in the sky when they reached the harbor of their kingdom a few days later. The morning light was reflecting on the deep blue ocean as they were coming back home, giving the water a surreal and gorgeous color. It looked like heaven, and Killian and Emma couldn't help but stay for a bit under the light of dawn after anchoring their ship, just watching the immensity stretching at their feet and the little waves crashing underneath them. He was holding her, and she felt so complete in his arms she couldn't help but sigh in pure bliss.

They were so happy to find their family back, and Emma could simply not wait to hug her little boy again. But somehow, they would have wanted for these moments just the two of them to last forever. They'd felt closer than ever during those few days spent together. She couldn't even understand how he was managing to make her fall in love with him a little bit more every day. And she was so glad that she had the rest of her life to spend beside this man that she loved so damn much.

Killian seemed to read right into her thoughts, as always. He leaned a bit closer to her and whispered to her ear, as if he were sharing a secret with her. "We'll do that again, love."

"You wanna have another honeymoon?" She asked, surprised and slightly amused by his comment.

He replied as if his idea were absolutely obvious, and she felt like her heart was going to burst at how much she loved him. "Why not? We could do that for our first anniversary. I love being with you so much, I just want to do it again."

"Oh, well, you know that I won't ever refuse something like this. But between our yearly trip on the Jolly Roger with Henry and this second honeymoon… It looks like you've planned everything, haven't you?"

"I'm just happy." He shrugged, and she was pretty sure that he didn't know that this simple statement was making her heart swell in her chest. Hearing him say those words, knowing how much he'd suffered for dozen of years, was making her the happiest woman on earth. She just wanted him to keep on smiling like that for the rest of his life.

"I'm so happy that you are." She murmured then, looking straight into his eyes.

"I have everything that I could ever need." He said gently. "A family, a wonderful son, and I'm now married to the love of my life. It still feels like a dream, sometimes."

"For me, too. And I love you. So much." She answered, placing herself on her tiptoe to reach his lips and exchange a tender kiss with him.

He smiled as he was looking at her for one more second, then he interlaced his fingers with hers and, their bags on their shoulders, they both got down the boarding ramp to finally go find their family. Emma could already see the figures of her parents waiting for them there, and she smiled before noticing that Henry wasn't there with them and growing serious all over again.

She frowned, a strange feeling settling in the pit of her stomach. She could feel that Killian was getting a bit nervous next to her as well, because their son should have been there. Something was going on, for sure, and not knowing what this was all about was making her anxious. She took a deep breath and exchanged a glance with her husband as they were fastening their pace to go join Snow and David. Despite her worry, she still forced herself to stay calm. Maybe everything was fine and she was just imagining things. She really hoped so, anyway.

She felt a wave of relief taking over her when she got close enough to see her parents' expressions. They seemed a bit tired and slightly concerned, but they didn't look devastated, like they would have been if something bad had happened to her little boy. On that moment, she couldn't care about the fact that something else was obviously wrong, and she just sighed and briefly hugged the royal couple as a greeting. She was just so happy that Henry was fine and that her baby boy was safe, she couldn't think about anything else just yet.

When she pulled away from her mother, she could finally see how exhausted Snow actually looked. She was smiling, sincerely glad to find her daughter back, but she had black circles under her eyes and her gaze was shining with a mix of worry and fear. Emma was about to ask her what was going on, but the Queen started to talk before she could say anything.

"So, how was your trip? We're so happy to see you both again."

"It was great." Emma answered with a small smile. "Why isn't Henry here with you, though? I'd thought that he would want to come and welcome us. Didn't he miss us?" She added as a joke, to try and ease the tension she could feel around them.

Her parents did smile a bit at her words, but it didn't reach their eyes, and she felt the fear settling inside her once again. Something bad was happening, and she just wanted to know what it was so she could be ready for a fight when the time would come. Her mother shook her head then, and she said gently, as if trying not to scare her too much.

"He wanted to come, but we all thought that it would be safer for him to stay at the castle."

"What's the matter?" Killian asked, frowning.

Emma saw her father opening his mouth to answer, but she didn't give him the time to say anything. Somehow, she already knew what this was all about, she was just afraid to think that it could be real. But their worry and their obvious exhaustion could only mean one thing, and she wasn't stupid. So she sighed and asked without really expecting an answer, because she was already sure of her assumption.

"It's all about Regina, isn't it?"

"How do you know?" David asked, surprised by her statement.

"It's not hard to guess. You both are worried, and you didn't want Henry to get out of the castle, because the city isn't safe anymore." She shrugged, her voice deep and serious.

"You're right." Snow nodded, looking like she was about to collapse under all the stress she was experiencing. "But Henry's in good hands right now, don't you worry. He's under the protection of dozens of guards at the palace, nothing can happen to him."

"What has Regina done, this time?" Killian asked, obviously relieved to know their son safe, but still wanting to understand. He searched for Emma's hand to seek the comfort he needed, and she gently pressed his fingers between hers, her heart pounding fast in her chest.

She briefly closed her eyes, tying to take some deep breaths and cursing herself quietly, because she hadn't seen that coming and the news seemed even worse as she was taken by surprise. They were just coming out of a week that had seemed like a dream, and she felt like she was falling right back into reality all over again. It was hard, and most of all, it was scary. If the witch had disappeared for so long, it surely meant that she had a plan, a solid one this time, and Emma was dreading to know more about it. This wasn't going to be easy, even if she was ready to fight to protect those she loved. But she just needed to face this, and then everything would be okay again.

Snow sighed, looking like she couldn't believe that it was all happening either. "She attacked the city once again, not long after your departure. The citizens are all locked in their homes ever since, too scared to go outside and risk to face her."

"Wait, I don't get it." Emma said in disbelief. "I'm the one she wants. She knew that I was gone, she probably knew where I was and she could have found me easily. Why would she attack while I'm not even in the kingdom?"

"She probably simply wants to scare the people." David explained, looking truly saddened by his own statement. "She wants them to stop protecting us, because they are too afraid to do so. She wants to make everyone suffer, to punish everyone for standing by our side."

"She wishes to attack our family, Emma." Her mother added. "If she's back, she has a plan. We need to be ready to face her."

"I already am ready." She answered at once. "I've been taking lessons for weeks. I know how to use a sword and I can control my powers. I can do this. I'll protect everyone."

"Oh, honey, I don't doubt that, but… Regina knows exactly what she's doing." Snow said nervously, chewing on her lower lip. "She's capable of anything to make me suffer. She's ready to kill innocent people, and to hurt our family. And in addition to all of that, she's working with Rumpelstiltskin now. She's probably just waiting for all of us to be too mentally exhausted to defend ourselves, so she can attack and hurt us all."

"And we won't let her." Emma then took the time to turn back and look at Killian before continuing. He seemed absolutely panicked to know that she was in danger again, and she just wanted to reassure him. Because she wasn't scared for herself. She knew that she could face this, she'd been preparing for this for what seemed like forever. "They don't call me the Savior for nothing, right? I won't let her win. Killian, I won't." She insisted, gently cupping his cheek to look straight into his eyes. "She doesn't stand a chance. I won't let her hurt anyone ever again. And nothing is going to happen to me."

"I know." Her husband murmured, briefly resting his forehead against hers and looking a bit comforted by her words. "You're so strong."

"I'm so sorry." Snow suddenly added, making them break apart to look at her and realize that tears had appeared in her eyes. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this. Now everyone is in danger, because of me."

"Don't apologize." Emma stated, not wanting her mother to feel guilty, because Regina was the one to blame for this mess. "We're a family, and we're going to face this together. It's about all of us, and we'll defeat her for good. I know we will."

Killian moved again, wrapping his arm around her waist to hold her close and kiss her hair. For a moment, she thought that he was going to tell her that she was amazing again, but he just held her close without saying anything, because he knew that he didn't need words to make her see how much he admired her. It was as if he were trying to protect her from any harm by holding her like this, too. He just wanted her and their son by his side, to make sure that nothing was going to happen to them.

But she knew that they would all be fine at the end of the day, she could feel it in her bones. And she offered all of them a small smile, because she wasn't scared. Now that her surprise over these news was gone, she was so sure that they would defeat the Evil Queen. She was ready, and she would do anything to protect the people she loved. No one, not even this old enemy, could steal this happiness from them.

Her parents looked truly comforted by her assurance. They didn't say anything else about the situation, and they all walked in silence in the streets of their city, completely empty once again because of the last events that had occurred. It made her heart tighten to see this place so dead, but she promised herself that she would do anything for all these citizens to lead a peaceful and happy life again. She was going to make sure that they wouldn't have to suffer ever again.

Henry jumped in their arms as soon as they stepped inside the castle. He hugged his parents with the biggest smile on his face, and Emma was reassured to see that he didn't look particularly worried either. It was as if he knew that everything was going to be alright eventually, and no one made any comment about the threat hanging above their heads. The little boy simply started to ask them thousands of questions about their trip, obviously really happy to find them back and, for a wonderful moment, it felt like everything was perfectly normal again.

The night had already settled outside when she found the right time to have a real conversation about all of this with Killian. He hadn't left her side once for the entire day, and he was now holding her close to his chest, both arms locked around her as if he were trying to protect her from an invisible danger. One hand resting on his chest and the other in his hair, she whispered against his skin, just wanting to make him feel better.

"Nothing is going to happen to me, babe. She won't hurt any of us. I promise. I'll protect all of you."

"I know you're capable of defeating her, love. You can do anything" He said, his voice sounding a bit broken. "I'm just… I'm scared of losing any of you. You're my world."

"You won't lose anyone." She assured him. "You won't lose me, ever. I love you too much for that."

With her still in his arms, he rolled until she was lying on top of him, and they stayed in this position for a very long time. Her head was resting on his chest so she could listen to his heartbeats, and she felt even more certain that everything was going to be okay, as he was holding her so lovingly. Together, they could face anything. And after that, they could finally be totally happy.

* * *

"Emma? Hey, Swan? Wake up, love..."

She could feel Killian gently stroking her back in a comforting back and forth, and his familiar voice was ringing just above her head, slowly getting her out of her deep sleep. Despite how pleasant his presence was, she let go of a little sigh and rolled on her side to escape him and fall back asleep. She buried herself deeper under her blankets and didn't open her eyes, absolutely refusing to wake up. She really didn't want to get out of bed.

But her reaction only made Killian laugh, and he started to gently play with a strand of her hair, saying in a low voice. "Hey, look who's finally decided to wake up."

She answered with another little grunt that made him chuckle again and, seeing that she wasn't ready to completely get out of her sleep, he leaned to press little kisses down her neck and help her to come back to reality. She shivered pleasantly and finally decided that it was time for her to listen to him. So she sighed and opened her eyes, only to frown when she realized how clear the sky already was outside. Making sense of her husband's previous words, she asked in a voice still a bit raspy with sleep.

"What time is it?"

"Almost noon, darling." He answered gently.

She moved to be able to look at him, more than intrigued by his words, but when she finally met his gaze, she realized that he was being serious about his last statement. It made her blink in surprise, as she was still trying to wake up completely. She sat up in the bed to stretch, still feeling absolutely exhausted despite her long night of sleep. Killian looked at her yawning without saying a word, and she finally asked sleepily.

"Is it really this late, already?"

"Aye, love. Are you still tired?" He said, looking a bit worried and his hand coming to rest against her thigh. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling fine." She shrugged, and it wasn't a lie. "Don't you worry, babe, really. I'm not sick. I guess that the last events have just taken a toll on me. I'm exhausted."

Her last words made him raise an eyebrow, but he looked a little bit comforted by her answer. He gently came to cup her face, and he pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose, making her giggle. She snuggled against him as he was wrapping his arm around her shoulders, and they just stayed like this, enjoying this moment of quiet and the comforting feeling of the other's presence.

Saying that the two weeks that had passed since they'd come back from their honeymoon had been eventful, would have been an understatement. Regina now seemed to be everywhere, at any time. She would attack almost every day now, and not only in their kingdom, but everywhere in the South of the Enchanted Forest. She would terrorize the citizens until they were scared to even step outside their homes, while being careful to always strike where they least expected her to, so they wouldn't be able to catch her. She still hadn't tried to come to the palace, but they all knew that she would eventually attempt to hurt one of them. They were all ready for a fight at all time, and this situation was truly exhausting.

Because Emma was refusing to get scared and stay hidden in the castle, just because it was safer for her. She was ignoring every danger, and would go to the villages that had been destroyed by the Evil Queen, to talk with the citizens and try to reassure them. She knew that even though she still hadn't managed to come any close to Regina, her words were comforting them a little bit, because they all knew that she wouldn't let them down.

Their enemy would end up making a mistake, and they would be ready to catch her then. She was probably thinking that she had an advantage because she was scaring everyone, but she was so wrong. They would find a way to defeat her, Emma didn't have a single doubt about it. She just wanted all of this to be over. The peace would come back in their family and in the region soon, she was convinced of it.

She knew that Killian was worried about her, though. He would always come with her to the villages she wanted to visit, but he was scared that something was going to happen to her. Regina was very obviously messing with them, and was probably planning on harming Emma when she would be too exhausted to even defend herself. And it was beginning to work, because even if she was more determined than ever, she really just wanted to sleep. She however wasn't going to show that to the Evil Queen. She was going to stay strong, and she was going to win this fight eventually. She just needed to find the right moment to do so.

She smiled against Killian, burying her face in the crook of his neck and trying to show him that she really was okay. She would always try to comfort him with these small gestures or gentle words, and she knew that it was truly helping him. He held her a bit closer, and she couldn't help but yawn again as he was gently stroking her spine.

"Still tired, huh?" He said to her ear, softly kissing her temple. "Do you want me to make you some tea? Breakfast is waiting for you on the kitchen table, too. Are you hungry?"

"Always, you know me." She mumbled, making him chuckle slightly. "And you're perfect. I love you."

"You should be used to it by now." He teased, and she laughed. "You're not too bad yourself, you know that, aye? Come on now, let's go. It's late"

He gently pulled away from her and took her hand to lead her out of bed. She smiled slightly, following him and trying not to start yawning again. Despite her exhaustion and the constant stress Regina was creating in their lives, she was determined to enjoy every little moment with her family. Everything would end up being okay. She knew it.

* * *

Everything had gone by pretty peacefully that day. Regina hadn't shown herself, not that they knew of anyway, and they'd stayed in the castle for the first time in weeks, simply enjoying these quiet moments. Despite the free time she'd been given, Emma had given up on the idea of training her magic or sword fighting skills, too tired to do anything else but curl up in the sofa and read. She'd forced herself to stay awake for the entire day, fighting to try and keep her eyes open. Killian, worried to still see her so exhausted, had advised her to go to bed sooner than usual, and she hadn't even thought about arguing with him. She'd fallen asleep as soon as her head had touched her pillows.

Everything really had been so calm that day. Little did they know that it wasn't going to last.

She got woken up in the middle of the night by gentle strokes that immediately worried her. Killian's touch on her skin seemed a bit shaky and unusually nervous, and she immediately opened her eyes at this realization. She briefly wondered if it was morning already, but it was still dark outside and she frowned, trying to come back to reality. Feeling that she was awake, Killian said in the silence of the night.

"Swan, you have to get up, love. Something's wrong in the city."

His words and worried tone managed to wake her up completely, and she sat up at once. She rubbed her eyes to try and see more clearly, and listened to the loud noises that were coming from the outside. They were scary, to say the least. She couldn't hear well, but bangs that resembled the sounds of a fight were ringing outside of the property. She could also distinguish muffled screams, and she felt like her heart was going to stop as she was realizing how bad the situation actually was.

She jumped out of bed, suddenly terrified by what was happening out there. She immediately came to stand at the window, knowing that the height would allow her to see the city from afar. She stopped breathing for a second when she finally discovered what was going on down there. Somewhere around the town center, where the fight was very obviously occurring, the terrifying bright colors of a fire were announcing a disaster.

She instantly turned to Killian, her eyes widened in fear. She was about to ask him what was going on, but it was obvious that he didn't know more. So instead, she rushed to her wardrobe to put on some clothes, tied her hair up in a ponytail so it wouldn't fall before her eyes when she would enter the fight, and she stated in a deep voice.

"Let's go."

Killian was very obviously agreeing with her decision, because he was already dressed and ready to go and face whatever was happening out there. They shared a very brief glance, their hands interlacing to give each other strength before the fight they would have to lead, and they left their room together to go to their son's. Emma realized that she didn't even feel tired anymore, as all that mattered was protecting the people that were counting on her. It was her job to save all of them.

Henry was already awake, and was standing at the window, looking at the fire distroying everything with tears of pure fear shining in his eyes. He turned to them when he heard them approaching, and he ran to hug them both, as if trying to hold them back from going out there.

"It's okay, kid." Emma promised him gently, knowing how scared he probably was. "You're safe here, nothing can happen to you. Kate and Chiara are going to protect you, I swear."

"Please don't go." He whimpered, his voice broken by the tears, and she thought that her heart was breaking in half at his words.

She still knew that she couldn't stay there and do nothing about the destruction of her kingdom, so she kissed his hair and whispered. "We have to, Henry. It's our job to make sure that everyone's okay. But I promise you that we'll be careful. Nothing can take us away from you, alright? We love you so much, kiddo. We'll all be okay."

Killian kissed Henry's forehead as well, as the little boy was nodding, sniffing discreetly to try and pull himself together. She knew how terrified their little boy was to lose them both, and she would have wanted to protect him from knowing more pain, but she also knew that she didn't have a choice. She was the Princess, and the Savior. These people needed her, and she had to fight for all of them. She'd sworn that she would, and she couldn't break that promise.

She let Henry hug them for a bit longer, then she gently took his hand to lead him out of their apartment and go find her parents. Time was precious and they needed to get to the city as soon as possible, to stop the situation from getting even worse. They found Kate standing before Snow and David's room, looking absolutely terrified, but she started to talk right away when she saw them approaching, as if she'd been waiting for them all along.

"Your parents are already gone, they've asked me to tell you to join them as soon as you can."

"We're going. Can you make sure that Henry is okay while we're not there?" Emma asked, her arm wrapped protectively around her son's shoulders.

"Of course." Kate tried to smile to the little boy to reassure him. "Chiara has gone to fetch backups, and the Blue Fairy is protecting the castle with her magic right now. You're safe here, Henry."

"Good." Killian nodded, dropping another kiss to his son's hair. "We love you, lad. We'll see each other later, aye?"

"Everything is going to be just fine, kiddo." Emma added gently. "We'll be back before you know it."

"I love you both, too." The little boy just said in a small voice, knowing that he couldn't do anything to hold them back.

Kate wrapped her arms around Henry to show him that he was safe with her, and she told them before they walked away. "Please, be careful."

"We will." Emma nodded, determined to come back to her son in one piece.

She forced herself to put her worry about this entire situation aside for a second and wink at her son, just wanting to make him feel better. She really didn't want him to be afraid, and her try to comfort him seemed to work at least a little, because he managed to give her a small smile back. And then, knowing that she had to go, she grabbed Killian's hand and, together, they ran to the stables of the palace.

They needed their horses to get as fast as possible to the city, because the noises of the fight seemed to grow stronger by the minute. There was no doubt in Emma's mind that this was all about Regina. She was probably throwing spells all around her, trying to hurt the people of the kingdom, but if she was worried about the safety of the citizens, Emma wasn't scared to face her enemy. She was ready, she'd been preparing for this moment for weeks. She needed to stay calm and join the fight. She could do this.

Killian held her hand a little bit tighter as they were still running side by side. She could feel his own fear in her bones as he was holding onto her. He was terrified out of his mind that something was going to happen to her, but he knew better than to try and tell her not to go. She had to, so he was going to support her on this, always. Trying to reassure him, she pressed his fingers between hers for a moment before letting go as they were finally arriving to their destination. They would all be okay, she knew they would.

They were relieved to find two stable boys waiting for them there, holding their horses as they were already ready to go. Emma felt so grateful that they didn't have to waste more time, and she thanked them as she was mounting Wave, ready to finally join her parents in the chaos that was going on outside.

"The King and Queen told us that you would come." One of the boys said. "We thought that it would be a good idea to get your horses ready."

"Thank you, lads." Killian said kindly "This is helping us a lot."

"Be careful, okay?" Emma added before leaving. "Don't stay here, go inside the castle and tell everyone outside to do the same. You're not safe here, but the palace is protected by spells. Go put yourself in safety."

She waited for them to have anxiously nodded at her, then she finally brought Wave to gallop next to Ocean, trying to get to the city as fast as they possibly could. The guards that were standing at the doors of the castle to make sure that everyone inside were safe heard them coming from afar, and they immediately opened the gates before closing them back behind them and keep on watching their surroundings.

They quickly joined the place where everything was happening. The streets were luckily almost empty, the citizens having locked themselves inside their homes to escape the disaster. Emma told the rare ones they crossed path with to go find shelter somewhere, while still rushing to the heart of the fight. The fire was very obviously coming from the square, where the market was usually taking place. Everything there was now getting destroyed in explosions of orange and red that burnt the skin and hurt the eyes.

In the middle of the flames and the black smoke going up to meet the starless sky, were standing Regina and her parents. Snow and David were obviously not there for very long, as they were still trying to get the Evil Queen to stop by yelling at her. Their enemy was smiling at their words, a cruel, terrifying grin, as if she were finding all of this to be really amusing. It put Emma in such a rage, she decided to approach them despite the fire, trying not to hurt or scare Wave in the process. She was able to hear the end of their conversation, her mother's voice broken by the tears.

"Why are you doing this, Regina? Killing my father and making me suffer for years wasn't enough? You really need to hurt and terrorize innocent people in addition to everything you've already done?"

Regina opened her mouth to answer, as she hadn't noticed the newcomers to the scene yet. Emma then stopped her horse, and she yelled to cover the noises of the fire and the collapsing buildings, the heat of the flames burning her skin through her clothes.

"Hey,  _queenie_!"

She immediately cast one of the spells she'd learned about, hoping to take Regina by surprise, but her enemy was faster than her. She blocked her magic without even bothering to look at her, and Emma stayed confused for a horrible second, wondering what the hell was happening. She needed a minute to understand that the reason why the Evil Queen had been absent for so long was probably because she'd tried to learn everything she could about Emma's powers, to try and fight against her. And it had obviously worked, because she seemed to find her try almost pathetic.

She finally turned to glance at her, and offered her a cruel smile that sent a shiver up Emma's spine. She immediately placed her hand on the sword that she was carrying on her belt, deciding that if she couldn't use her magic, she was going to work with her weapon instead. But while she should have been scared, or at least slightly worried, Regina just shook her head and her smile widened even more. Before Emma could understand her expression, she moved her hand, leaving everyone frozen in surprise for a second.

They only understood what had really happened when the purple smoke that had come with the movement disappeared. She was gone. But it wasn't what left them all speechless. She'd taken Snow with her.

Emma exchanged a confused look with David, too stunned to do anything but stay still. He didn't react the same way though, and he only needed a split second to start moving again. He didn't wait for her to say anything, he didn't even open his mouth to talk or scream his fear. His eyes widened with determination as he was simply making his horse turn around, and he disappeared through the town gates, the beating sounds of Mist's hoofs fading away with him.

The surprise gone, Emma yelled, trying to hold him back "David!"

But it was too late, he couldn't hear her anymore and she finally started to think again. She felt numb and, strangely, her first reaction wasn't to follow her parents into the unknown. She didn't try to scream again and didn't panic about what had just happened either. Instead, she raised her hand up above her head, to make the flames disappear with a flick of her wrist.

And then it was only silence. Silence and darkness.

"Emma?" Killian asked, approaching her and stopping Ocean right next to Wave.

Hearing his voice calling her name had a strange effect on her. It was as if everything started to exist again at once, and she realized how bad the situation really was. She actually startled, feeling her heart beginning to pound and her eyes widening in fear. And before she could do anything to stop herself, she started to panic.

Her parents had disappeared, the gods only knew where. Her mother was stuck with the woman who wanted her dead for decades. David was after them, lost in the middle of the woods with no clue of where he was going, and in danger as well because Regina hated him too. The worst could easily happen to them, and she had no idea of how to protect them both. But she was sure of one thing : she couldn't lose them. Not while they had just been reunited after a lifetime spent apart.

"We need to… We have to find them!" She stuttered. "We need to get them out of there!"

"Darling, calm down. Breathe." Killian said very gently, reaching for her hand to try and comfort her. "In and out. Just breathe."

She could see at his eyes shining with pure worry that her reaction was scaring him. He would very obviously have wanted to take her in his arms and hold her close, but Ocean was preventing him from doing so, so he just held her fingers and tried to reassure her with his presence. It worked, because she felt like she could breathe again with him by her side. Very softly, after a few seconds, he added in a low, concerned voice.

"You're doing great, love. You just need to keep on breathing, aye?"

It didn't feel like her heart was going to burst anymore, but she was still scared out of her mind, so she repeated. "We need to find them, right now!"

He nodded, still tightly holding her hand. "I know that we do, love. And we will. But you needed to stop panicking first. Everything is going to be alright, we always manage to find a solution, don't we? I promise you that your parents are going to be just fine."

She closed her eyes for an instant and took a deep breath, before cursing loudly at the situation. "Damn it, Killian, we could have found them easily. I know about a location potion that we have at the castle, I should have taken it with me. We don't have time to go fetch it, now."

"Hey, it's not your fault." He gently reassured her. "You couldn't have known what was going to happen. And we'll find another way. We've both hunted to survive, we know how to track an animal. We can follow David's horse easily, and we'll find him."

"You're right." Emma nodded, trying to convince herself that everything really was going to be okay. "I'm just… I can't lose them."

"You won't, my love. Regina isn't going to win this, and your parents are strong. We will all be alright."

She was well aware that he couldn't know for sure that they would be fine at the end of the day. For all they knew, the Evil Queen had killed Snow already. But she really wanted to believe him as he was trying to comfort her, and she tried but failed to smile at him as a quiet thank you. He just brought her hand to his lips and pressed a little kiss on her knuckles as an answer, then he said gently, letting go of her to straighten on his saddle.

"We should go. The sooner the better."

She was impressed by how calm he was, even if she knew that he was worried too. He seemed so composed and assured, she felt almost completely reassured about the situation. He was probably right, she tried to convince herself. They'd always managed to figure things out, and they would too, this time. And maybe they would finally get Regina and everything could be alright in the world again. Maybe that night could be the end of their fight. Perhaps this was all going to end well.

They didn't wait any longer to rush in the direction her father had taken when he'd left the city, and they fortunately didn't take long to find the traces Mist had left behind him as he was galloping through the forest. His hoofs had crushed the grass, as David had led him to an insane speed in between the trees. So they followed the trail there, trying to catch up with the King and figure out where Regina had taken Snow so suddenly.

They rode for a while in silence, the sky slowly getting clearer above their heads even though it was still dark outside. It took half an hour for them to reach what they immediately guessed was their final destination, and they stopped at once, not sure of what to do now that they were there.

They looked up at the structure that was standing before them, staying quiet for a while. It was huge and dark, lost in the middle of the woods and built with black rocks that were giving the place a threatening atmosphere. Emma felt her heart tightening and she got off her saddle, Killian doing the same beside her. Mist was there, tied up to a tree not far from them. He seemed nervous, as if he could feel how dangerous all of this was. Without asking herself one question, Emma tied Wave up to the same tree, then she turned to Killian and said in a whisper.

"Stay here while I go inside. One of us has to stay out in case something goes wrong."

"Are you kidding me, Swan?" He said, looking profoundly offended by her statement. "I would die before I let you get in there all alone!"

"Be careful, she could hear us!" She protested, looking behind her shoulder to make sure that no one was coming to attack them, but everything was quiet in the forest, for now at least. Reassured, she added more gently, taking his hand in hers and looking straight into his eyes. "Babe… we don't know what's going to happen in there. If my parents are hurt and if I find myself in danger..."

She saw him closing his eyes in pain and she stopped in the middle of her sentence, knowing just how much her words were actually hurting him. She moved to cup his cheek with her other hand, still looking at him as his eyes had started to shine with tears of worry and fear.

"I refuse for Henry to become an orphan and go through the same things we have."

"Nothing is going to happen to you." He shook his head. "You promised me this. We either both go inside, or we don't go at all."

"And I'm supposed to be the stubborn one." She mumbled, but there was a hint of tenderness in her voice, because she'd been sure that he was going to refuse her offer before even saying it out loud.

"I won't let my wife go put herself in danger all alone." He just said, holding her hand a bit tighter as if to stress his words.

She simply nodded and offered him a very small smile to show him that she wasn't going to protest, because she would have done the exact same thing if she'd been in his shoes. He sighed in relief and leaned to press a brief kiss on her forehead, as if to thank her silently. She only enjoyed the touch of his lips for a second, though. They had no time to waste, and they needed to act and solve this all thing.

So she moved to get the dagger out of the scabbard on her belt, and she placed it inside her boot instead to hide it from prying eyes. She was aware that Regina would probably try to get rid of all her weapons, and she wanted to make sure that she wouldn't be left with nothing to defend herself. And then she looked at Killian for a moment, giving the departure signal and they both entered the structure, shivering at what was awaiting for them in there.

The darkness was absolute in this place, but their eyes had got used to the dim light of the moon and they were able to see where they were going quite easily. They stepped into a long hallway, the floor and the walls black and so narrow that they couldn't walk side by side while crossing it. At the end of the corridor, several doors were closed, leading to places they couldn't see yet, and they stopped in front of them. They didn't know what to do next, and they both simply listened to try and see what was going to be their next move.

Muffled noises suddenly rang from behind the door that was at the very end of the hallway. They didn't need to confer to know how to react, and they moved silently to get to it, and see what was happening there. Emma placed her ear against the wooden surface and waited for a second, trying to understand what was going on. The sounds there were so low that they were almost inaudible, but she still managed to recognize David's voice among other words that were spoken.

She turned to Killian again and exchanged an intense glance with him. They knew what they had to do, as they knew that it was dangerous. He took her hand again, and pressed it gently as she was understanding his quiet words to her.  _Be careful_. She offered him a very small smile, and briefly cupped his cheek to look into his eyes.  _You too_.

And then they were ready to go.

Emma took a deep breath, her hand on the handle of the door and ready to use her magic if it happened to be locked. She could still hear someone screaming on the other side, and her heart tightened even though she couldn't grasp what her father was saying. She really had to go help her parents, they needed her. So she took one more second to prepare herself, then she opened the door, entering the dark room that was in front of her.

"Emma, watch out!"

She frowned, confused by the scream coming from the back of the room. The darkness around her was so thick it was only allowing her to distinguish the figures of the people that were in the room with her. She still realized that it was her father who had yelled her name, and she could see him shaking his head in her direction. He was sitting against a wall, Snow by his side, and was very obviously trying to tell her not to come any closer. It took a second for her to fully comprehend the information, but this second was enough for everything to shift yet another time.

A figure that she hadn't noticed yet suddenly jumped from behind the door to tackle her, making her lose her balance and fall over. She grunted in pain when her head hit the ground underneath her, and she felt like her skull was going to explode under the shock. She heard Killian calling her name in a strangely distorted voice, obviously terrified by what was happening. And before she could do anything, too stunned by the blow, she felt Regina putting something around her wrist that made her feel like her own life was being drained from her veins at once.

The Evil Queen then stood up without saying a word, a cruel smile etched on her face, and she looked behind her shoulder to see Killian running in her direction, obviously planning on knocking her out and saving them all. But she'd seen him coming, and she merely raised her hand up in the air, looking anything but scared or even slightly concerned. With a simple flick of her wrist, Killian was suddenly gone. He had disappeared, and when the information reached Emma's painful brain, she thought that her heart was going to stop.

She sat up despite how dizzy she felt and she shouted, trying to stand up and punch this damn witch in the face to stop her from causing more pain. "Killian! Where is he? Where did you send him? Make him come back, or I swear you'll regret it."

She raised her hand as well to use her magic and make her enemy fall over, too angry to even think about what she was doing, but nothing at all happened. She panicked for an insane second, before quickly pulling herself together, her jaw clenched in determination. This was all because of the stress of the situation. She was still only a beginner, and she had every reason to be nervous. Her parents were in danger, the woman who wanted her dead was standing right before her, she was exhausted for days and her husband had just disappeared before her eyes, sent to an unknown place. She just had to calm down, and she would be alright.

So she took a deep breath, trying to focus and forget the horrible position she was in. She tried to imagine Killian's voice in her head, telling her that he loved her more than anything. This had always helped her to summon her powers, and he needed her help too, this time. She was going to fight for him and for her entire family, she could do this. And so she tried a second time to reach the magic she needed so badly.

But unfortunately, the room stayed silent once again. She looked up then, completely confused and frustrated beyond words, and she noticed the way Regina was looking at her. She seemed very amused, and was staring at her with a spark of pity shining in her dark eyes. Almost gently, she took Emma's hand and lifted it to show her the black bracelet that was now placed around her wrist.

"Do you see this,  _Savior_? This pretty little bracelet is stopping you from using your powers. Amazing, isn't it? You must feel so helpless without them, now. I can't believe that you really fell into my trap so easily. Coming to save your parents without any help, aside from your pirate husband… This was stupid, even coming from you."

"Where is Killian?" Emma growled once again, trying to stop the panic from setling in her chest. She needed to find another way to defeat the witch, she was going to make it out of there. She'd sworn this to Henry and she couldn't break her promise.

"Don't worry about him, he's fine. For now, at least. I'll take care of him later."

Emma's eyes widened as she was wondering what the hell she meant by that, but Regina didn't give her the time to say anything else. She approached her again, brutally grabbed her elbow and forced her to stand up. Emma was still feeling too dizzy from the shock to fight back, and she stumbled to the back of the room, where her parents were sitting. The Evil Queen bluntly threw her against the wall, and she fell down again, trying not to hurt her head even more. She felt sick and wanted to scream. How had she been naive enough to fall into such an obvious trap?

Without surprise, Regina crouched before her to search for weapons and get rid of them. She found the sword on her belt, but she luckily didn't think about looking into her shoes, and Emma could still feel the dagger in her boot, patiently waiting to be used.

She sighed, trying to stay calm and deciding that she would keep this advantage for later, when Regina wouldn't expect her to attack. She thus didn't do or say anything when her enemy tied her hands with a rope, she didn't even try to defend herself. She simply did her best not to show how relieved she was when she realized that the knots of her ties weren't as tight as they should have been.

"Are you okay?" Snow whispered with tears in her eyes.

Emma nodded once, the simple movement making her feel like her head was going to explode. She winced, hoping that this was just the shock and that it would get better soon, but she felt like throwing up and it certainly wasn't a very good sign. Trying not to show the pain she was in, she looked up at Regina as she was yelling, looking absolutely furious.

"Shut up, for gods' sake! Do you want your deaths to be even more painful?"

"What are you going to do to us?" Snow asked in a shaky voice, but she was watching her enemy defiantly, as if she was refusing to give up and let the fear take over her.

"Why are you even asking? This should be obvious. I'm going to kill you, of course. All of you. You two, first." She said with a huge grin, nodding toward Snow and David. "And I'll force your precious little princess to watch the parents she's just found die before her eyes. And then I'll kill her, too. The Savior will finally be dead. I'll take care of lover boy next. He must be scared out of his mind right now, and he's right to be. And then I'll finish with the little prince, so no one can have any power on the crown. Your people will have no other choice but to follow me, after that. And I'll finally get my revenge."

"If you come any close to my son..." Emma threatened, feeling like she could explode with the rage she was feeling inside her.

"What, then?" Regina sneered, seeming to find her reaction really funny. "What are you going to do? You'll be dead, you won't be able to protect him anymore."

The only thing Emma could do at this stage of the game was scowling at her, and it made her so furious she didn't know what to do with herself anymore. Regina just smiled, and she tried her best not to start panicking once again. Killian and Henry were safe for now, at least. If she managed to escape this hell of a situation, she could save them both. She just had to find a way. There had to be a way, right?

Regina moved then, slowly approaching Snow and looking down at her with pure hatred in her eyes. She knelt in front of her as Emma's mother was looking right back at her, one tear she hadn't been able to hold back rolling down her cheek. The Evil Queen leaned to wipe it off and talked so gently it sent a shiver up Emma's spine. She was crazy, and this wouldn't end well if she didn't try anything really soon.

"I can't promise you that your death will be painless. I'm waiting for this for a long time after all, so I'm going to take my time. But don't worry. It'll probably be over really soon. I don't think that you can survive everything that I have planned for you."

She was so close to Snow that their faces were only inches away, and Emma realized that the witch actually couldn't see her on that moment. She immediately saw there an opportunity that she just couldn't miss. She had to try something, and it was the perfect moment to do so. She didn't have much time left, anyway. Regina was probably going to try and hurt Snow soon, and she couldn't let that happen.

The Evil Queen slowly extended her other hand to grab Snow's throat, and Emma managed to meet her mother's terrified eyes at this exact moment. Hoping that she would understand her quiet request, she tried to show her that she had to ask something to their enemy so they could delay her execution, just for a few more minutes. It was all that Emma needed to get rid of her ties and attack Regina when she would least expect it.

David was the one that understood the plan she had in mind first, though. He was still looking so panicked that he seemed about to explode, but Emma's idea seemed to give him a bit of hope back. He started to talk then, and Regina turned her head to look at him, so Emma was completely out of her sight. It was perfect, and she was going to escape this, she knew it.

"Don't do this, Regina!" He said "Haven't you done enough already? Aren't you sick of fighting all the time?"

"When this will be over, I won't ever have to fight anymore. Finally. Tomorrow, I'll be a free woman with a kingdom at my feet. And I just can't wait to get rid of you."

Snow decided to follow her husband's example, and she added, her voice a bit broken by the tears. "But you don't have to do this in order to break free! We can talk and find a solution together, we can even make peace, this has gone on for far too long! It's never too late, we can still live happily ever after!"

"You and your speeches about hope are beginning to really annoy me, Snow White. I don't want to make peace, because I will never be happy as long as you are alive. This ends today."

Glancing at her parents and the Evil Queen to make sure that she wasn't noticing what her plan was, Emma moved silently to try and untie the knots that were keeping her prisoner. They seemed to get slightly weaker, but she had to hold herself back from cursing out loud when she realized that they were still too tight for her to completely get rid of them. She forced herself to keep her hands from shaking because it definitely wasn't helping, and she went on with her task. This was her only chance to save her family, and she wasn't going to waste it.

"All right, enough talking." Regina then said theatrically. "It's time. Just so you know what to expect, I decided to kill you without magic. I'm going to do it with my bare hands. Gods, you have no idea for how long I've been dreaming of this moment."

And, before anyone could do anything to buy themselves more time, her hands were around Snow's neck and she was strangling her. Emma tried to stay calm while David was starting to yell to try and stop Regina, as she was aware that she didn't have much time left to act. Her mother was choking, her father seemed about to die from panic and pain, and she just had to do something to stop this madness.

It seemed like an eternity to her, but miraculously, the rope eventually fell from her wrists. She tossed it on the side and was ready to act. Finally.

Regina couldn't see or hear her because of David's screams, as he was trying to get rid of his own ties and jump at her throat. She was too focused on making Snow suffer to pay attention to anything that was going on around her, anyway. So Emma quickly took the dagger that was still in her boot, and she finally stood up, ignoring the excruciating pain in her head and the one in her legs from having stayed for too long in the same position.

She didn't think about what she was doing, because it already seemed obvious to her. Without making a noise and feeling like all of this was surreal, she knelt just behind her enemy and glued the blade of her knife against her throat, trying to save her mother from a certain death.

Snow's skin had already turned blue, and she seemed on the edge of fainting as the oxygen wasn't reaching her brain anymore. Regina let go of her immediately, too surprised to fight back, and Emma saw her mom avidly breathing the air that she had been lacking so much. Relieved beyond words to see her out of danger, she dug the knife a little bit deeper into Regina's skin until it drew blood, and she whispered to her ear.

"You weren't expecting that one, huh? If you try anything now, I'll cut your throat before you can even beg me not to."

Emma wasn't planning on killing her, but the Evil Queen didn't know that and she was going to take advantage of her fear to defeat her for good. Regina let go of a little gasp of pain, but she still didn't try to move and get away from her. With her free hand, Emma took her arm to twist it in her back so she wouldn't try to escape from her. She just wanted to weaken her so she couldn't use her powers anymore, until she could find a way to have hers back. And with a bit of chance, maybe they could lock her in a cell and they would never have to hear from her again.

"I think that you're going to find the dungeons of the castle very comfortable." Emma continued, because she wanted her to be scared of what was going to happen now.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she realized that her father had managed to get rid of his own ties, and was now holding his wife, kissing her everywhere he could reach and whispering how much he loved her over and over again, tears streaming down his face. Emma knew that this was it, that now that David was free, he could come and take that damn bracelet off her wrist and she could restrain Regina and defeat her for good. They would finally be okay.

But things didn't go as planned, once again.

Before she could do anything, still hoping that her father would come and help her soon, the Evil Queen moved her free hand to use her powers. Emma felt her heart skipping a beat in fear, knowing all too well that Regina could kill them all right now, with a flick of her wrist, and that she wouldn't be able to do anything to stop her.

But her arms suddenly closed back on emptiness. She needed a second to realize what had happened, but she soon had to admit the obvious. The Evil Queen was gone, again. They'd failed to catch her. She'd escaped, and none of them were safe.

She never fully understood why Regina hadn't tried to kill them on that moment. Maybe because it wouldn't have been satisfying enough, since she wanted to see them all suffer before. Anyhow, they were all alive at least, and that was what mattered the most right now. They were safe and sound, and she was going to get back to her son, like she'd promised. That was all she could care about on that moment.

She was so relieved to know them all alive and well, and she rushed to her parents, tears in her eyes as the tension was leaving her muscles and she was starting to shake. Red marks were already appearing around her mom's neck, and Emma felt like she could sob at the sight. They both hugged her tightly, crying as well, knowing how scared she'd been, as they'd been terrified for her too.

She'd almost lost them that night. And she suddenly realized that she didn't need those walls that were still there around her heart with them anymore. She wanted to trust them completely, because she finally had the incredible chance to have parents. She let go of a little sob at the thought that she hadn't even told them that she loved them once. She wasn't mad at them for giving her up when she was just a baby anymore and she knew that she didn't have to protect herself from them. All they wanted was for her to be happy.

So, without thinking, her face buried in their necks, she finally whispered for the first time. "Mom… Dad..."

She didn't even feel scared to say those words, it just felt like a dream to her. Little girl, she'd imagined calling someone like that so many times, it didn't even feel real. A strange feeling settled in the pit of her stomach, but it wasn't unpleasant and she just embraced it. She had parents, she was loved. And hearing them sigh in unison while feeling them holding her a bit tighter, she knew that she could always count on them, no matter what.

They stayed there for a long time, hugging on the floor of this dark room. Then she finally stood up and her parents did the same, as David was helping Snow to get back up after what she'd just lived. Her father then took off the bracelet that was still around Emma's wrist, and she physically felt her magic taking its rightful place in every single one of her cells once again. She sighed in relief, finally feeling like herself, and she stated.

"We need to find Killian."

She knew that he was fine, she could feel it in her bones, but she still couldn't wait to have him back in her arms. They had to search for a little while in order to get to him and they opened a few doors that were on their path, before finally noticing one that was locked. It could only mean that her husband was behind it, and she didn't even think about what she was doing before acting.

"Killian, watch out, I'm coming in!" She said, using her magic to slam the door open.

The wooden surface didn't resist, and she got what she wanted in less than a second. And suddenly, Killian was standing before her again.

They both ran to get to each other, and the shock of their bodies finally meeting almost made them lose their balance. But his hand spread wide in her back, holding her up, and she wrapped her arms around his neck as he was lifting her up from the ground to hold her just a little bit closer. He kissed her cheek, her nose, her lips, and she could feel the warmth of his tears falling down on her skin and making her want to cry with him.

"Are you okay?" She asked in a small voice, her face buried in the crook of his neck to breathe him in, because she just didn't want to let go ever again.

"I'm fine. She didn't touch me. I tried to get out, but the door was locked and I couldn't open it. I thought that… I was scared that she..."

"I'm here." She reassured him, running her fingers through his hair to try and calm him down. "I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere."

"What happened? What has she done to you?" He asked, his voice shaking and still holding her so tightly she could feel his own heartbeats.

"I'll tell you everything later, I just… Let me hold you first."

He sighed at that, his hand going up and down her back as if to make sure that she really was there with him. His fingers gently came up to cradle her head, but he met the place where her skull had hit the ground, and she startled in pain. He seemed really panicked all of the sudden, and he placed her back on her feet to look at her, shaking his head and fear shining deep in his blue eyes.

"You're hurt."

"I'm okay." She tried to comfort him, cupping his face with both her hands because he really seemed so worried. "I swear, it was only a little shock. I'm sure the pain will be gone in a few hours."

He was looking at her like she was coming right from heaven, and he kept on staring for a second before wrapping his arms back around her and pressing his mouth against hers. His kiss tasted like salt and she held him close, feeling like she could finally breathe again now that they were back together.

"Come on, love." He said after a few minutes, his voice still a bit shaky but finally sounding like himself again. "Let's go back home."


	32. Chapter 32

"Aren't you hungry, love?"

Emma sighed at her husband's question and simply shook her head, pushing back her still full plate and trying to offer her family a vague smile so they wouldn't get too worried about her. She was feeling quite unwell, but they were already concerned enough as it was. But she was so exhausted she was finding it hard to keep her eyes open, and her head was still pounding with the shock she'd received earlier. And it wasn't even the worst part of it.

She was feeling really sick, and it was stopping her from trying to eat anything, because she really didn't want to start throwing up in addition to what she was already going through. Wincing slightly, she placed one hand against her painful stomach, all while using her free one to cover her mouth as she was yawning deeply.

After what had happened that night in the structure lost in the middle of the woods, it seemed almost surreal to be back home, all safe and sound. She'd had to insist for a long time so Killian would let her go on her own horse as he wanted to take her with him on Ocean's saddle. He hadn't looked away from her once since they'd found each other again, regularly burying his face in her hair to breathe her in and make sure that she was there and that she wasn't going to disappear. It was making her heart tighten to see him in such distress, but she was fine, now. They all were, and she finally felt like she could breathe again.

She'd told him everything about what had happened with Regina on their way back to the castle. She'd ignored the pain in her head and how tired she was once again, because she knew that he needed to make sure that she really was okay, especially since they still didn't know where Regina was and when she would come back. He needed to feel her close, and she would have done anything to reassure him.

When she'd stopped talking, he'd told her that he loved her and that she was amazing over and over again, and she was just trying to comfort him ever since. Even when the Evil Queen would be back, because they all knew that this fight wasn't over, they would all be okay. They'd almost defeated her once, after all. They could absolutely do it again.

She didn't understand why Regina had given up so easily, though. The witch could have hurt Killian while they weren't watching, or could have attacked them as they were coming back to the palace, while they were way too tired to fight. Instead, she'd gone to hide again, and Emma knew that this wasn't a good sign. It probably meant that she'd thought about another plan, in case hers wouldn't work. And this wasn't going to be good, she could already tell.

Henry had thrown himself in their arms as soon as they'd stepped inside the castle. He'd been so worried to know them gone and in danger for so long, and finding all of them back had made him sob in relief. He'd hugged them for a very long time without saying a word, just silently telling them how afraid he'd been to lose them all.

Seeing her little boy so panicked over this situation had made Emma want to cry with him, and she'd promised herself that she was going to do anything to stop this. Her son finally had everything to be happy after all the hardships he'd known in his short life, he had the family he'd always dreamed of, and she wasn't going to let Regina ruin all of this. She was going to offer him the future he really deserved, and she was going to fight until all of this was finally over. She wasn't going to give up.

She'd held him tight for a few moments, kissing his hair and promising him that they were fine and that he didn't have to worry anymore, as Killian was doing the same. They'd both accepted for their son to come into their bedroom with them when they'd come back to their apartment, as he obviously didn't want to be separated from them, and they'd just lied down in silence for a while. They all knew that their family had almost been broken that night, and they were so grateful it hadn't been the case that no words could fully express it.

A healer had immediately come to make sure that both Snow and Emma really were out of danger, since their injuries couldn't disappear with magic. The Queen was already feeling much better and everyone was so relieved to have their family reunited once again, but Snow and David didn't dare to talk about the fact that Emma had called them Mom and Dad for the very first time. She could see that they'd been truly touched by her choice, but they probably didn't want to push her to talk about what had happened, and it was a good thing. She had no idea of what she wanted to do, now.

She'd called them like that because she'd been so afraid of losing them, and it'd come on its own, without her really thinking about it. But she was now realizing how huge this actually was. With that, she'd finally totally accepted them as her parents, and she didn't know if she was ready to open up completely and let them in. Their relationship was still complicated and she was scared of what could happen if she let herself trust them. But the most important thing was that they knew she loved them. This would never change, and she could tell that they were going to give her the time she needed to think about all of this. She couldn't have been more grateful about it.

Snow's injuries being more important than her daughter's, the healer had attended to her first while Emma, Killian and Henry were waiting for him in their room. He'd knocked at their door to find the three of them snuggled up together in their bed, and it'd made him smile slightly. He'd quickly looked at her head, and had stated that he couldn't do much about the pain, as it was probably going to last for a few more days. He'd warned her that she could experience some mild feeling of nausea and headache, but that she was going to be fine eventually. She'd avoided the worst once again.

Hearing these good news had made Killian sigh in relief, and he'd taken her hand and hadn't let go since. He seemed so happy that they were okay and together again, and she had to admit that she really didn't want to be apart from any of the people she loved for a while either. She knew how scared he'd been for her, because she'd been terrified for him too. And she was going to prove him and Henry that they weren't going to lose her and that she would always come back to them. She wouldn't let them down, and they had to know that.

After all these emotions, her parents had offered to go share a meal in the dining room, to spend some time together and rest before everything that was going to come next. A big part of the city had to be rebuilt and the citizens needed to be reassured, but for now, they all wanted to feel each other close after what had happened. This dinner seemed like a very good idea, just to convince themselves that they would be able to face whatever life would throw at them. They'd survived this already. They could basically do anything, now.

But Emma's genuine joy to be reunited with her family again had suddenly been ruined when she'd realized that the smells of meat and eggs really were bothering her. Her stomach was painful and she felt like throwing up, but she wasn't really worried about it either. The healer had told her that it was normal to feel that way for a few days, and she knew what to expect. Right now though, she really just wanted to get away from this table and sleep until she felt like she could stand on her own two feet again.

Killian seemed deeply concerned by the fact that she wasn't eating, though. She smiled at him again and simply shrugged, trying to show him that it wasn't such a big deal. "I don't feel so good."

His first impulse was to gently place his hand on her forehead, as if to make sure that she wasn't running a fever, and it made her smile tenderly, for real this time. He frowned, obviously growing more worried with each passing second. She moved to take his hand and squeeze his fingers between hers, before saying reassuringly.

"I'm not sick, Killian. The healer said that I could feel like this for a few days. I'll be okay."

"Do you want to call him back?" He offered kindly, but she immediately shook her head to refuse the suggestion.

"There's no need for that. Don't worry, I'm fine. My stomach just hurts a little bit and I really want to sleep."

"Let's go to bed, then." He decided immediately, grinning slightly as her words seemed to comfort him a bit. "We've had a bit of an eventful night, to say the least. You should really get some rest."

"You've barely eaten at all, babe." She protested, looking at the untouched food in his plate. "I'm fine, you can finish your meal. I can wait for a few more minutes, I promise."

"I'm not really hungry either." He shrugged, and she playfully rolled her eyes at that, because she knew that it was a lie, as she was well aware that he wouldn't change his mind. "Come on, let's go get some sleep. You'll feel better after."

"I'm coming with you." Henry added hastily, standing up and obviously refusing to be separated from them so soon after the events of that night. "I'm tired, too."

Emma stood up and protectively wrapped her arm around his shoulders to silently comfort him. She noticed then that her parents seemed pretty disappointed to see them all go so quickly, so she promised them, trying to make them smile because she knew that they'd been through a lot, too. "We'll join you for dinner tonight, when we'll all feel better. It's a promise."

They seemed happy with her idea, because they offered her real grins as an answer, probably knowing that she really needed to go get some sleep, now. She was still holding Killian's hand and she suddenly started to get dizzy, the room beginning to spin a little around her. She winced at that, thinking that she really had to be exhausted to feel that way. Her husband immediately came to wrap his arm around her waist for support, noticing the way she was feeling. He dropped a kiss to her temple, but he didn't make any comment, probably silently hoping that she was going to feel better when she would finally get to their room.

The three of them climbed together in their big bed once again, because their son really didn't want to let them out of his sight. Emma had to admit that she was pretty relieved to have him in her arms too, so she could make sure that he was safe, and they all settled in silence. She was so tired that she barely heard Killian telling them that he loved them both more than anything, and she fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Oddly enough, if Emma's stomach quickly felt better after a few good nights of sleep, it wasn't the case for her exhaustion. She seemed to be growing more tired with each passing day, and she was sure that she could have slept for an entire week if she'd been able to. She'd tried to carry on with her life normally, to continue her lessons because she wanted to be ready for a fight when the time would come again, but her eyes wouldn't stay open for more than a few hours in a row despite her determination.

The only things she felt good enough to do anymore were going out for short little rides on Wave's back, and reading in the sofa of their apartment. She was still fighting against herself every day to get out there and reassure the citizens, but she couldn't go much further than the gates of the city anymore. Everything was exhausting her, and she really just wanted to sleep.

She'd of course tried to hide this from her family at first. They had enough on their plates already without worrying about her in addition to everything, and the kingdom needed her to be okay. She'd helped her parents to rebuild the part of the city that had been destroyed during the attack, but she'd seemed to get even worse. And soon, she hadn't been able to pretend like everything was normal anymore.

Killian was horribly worried about her. She'd always been a very active person, and it was highly unusual for her to stay inside all day. He would often come to bed with her when she would decide to take yet another nap, just to watch over her and make sure that she was okay. Sometimes, while she was just barely awake, she could hear him murmuring to her ear how much he loved her and feel him tenderly kissing her hair, as if to protect her from all harm.

Her family had been scared at first that her exhaustion was actually coming from a curse that Regina would have cast on her. Killian had then insisted for her to see the Blue Fairy, even if Emma could tell that it was probably not about the Evil Queen, for once. Somehow, she wasn't worried about what was happening to her. She wasn't having headaches anymore, and she was actually feeling fine, aside from the fact that she was so tired all the time. Still, she would have done anything for her husband to feel just a little bit better, so she'd accepted the fairy's visit without trying to protest.

As she'd expected it though, their friend had assured them that she hadn't detected anything that could have announced a curse around her. She'd told them that it wasn't about the shock that she'd got on the head either, and she'd shrugged while saying that she couldn't promise that nothing at all was going on, but that as far as she could tell, everything seemed absolutely fine.

The only piece of advice she'd been able to give them was for Emma to rest a lot. In her opinion, she'd simply been going through a lot of stress lately, and her body had had enough. And she truly trusted this assumption, because she'd lived a lot in a few months after all, even if most of it had been very positive.

She'd found her parents back after growing up as an orphan, she'd learned that she was a princess and had had to learn everything about this new position that she'd been put in. She'd traveled around the Enchanted Forest and had learned about powers she didn't even know she had. And now, an old enemy she only knew about for a short period of time was trying to get to them and hurt them all. Being anxious was only a normal reaction, and sleep seemed like the best possible solution to heal.

"Killian?" She asked one night as they were settled into their bed, her head resting on his bare chest.

She'd felt great that day, better than she'd been in a very long time. She'd been in a very good mood, and she'd felt good enough to finally make love to her husband, which hadn't happened in a few days. This was highly unusual for them, as they were always so eager to get together, but she hadn't been able to gather enough energy for these kind of activities before. It was not that she wasn't missing it, but she would fall asleep as soon as her head would touch her pillow every night, no matter how much she wanted him.

He'd of course never complained about the situation, even if she could tell that he wanted her too. He was mostly worried, and he only wanted her to rest and feel better. That night, while she'd initiated the moment between them, he'd even asked her over and over again if she was feeling okay, reminding her that she could stop at any given moment if she wanted to. She'd had to shut him up with a kiss that had made him moan against her lips, and they'd continued until they were both left panting, clinging to each other.

She wanted to sleep now, these last activities having exhausted her, but thoughts that she'd been keeping inside for a while now were coming to torture her again, and she wanted to talk about them with her husband. She wanted to take advantage of the fact that she wasn't as tired as usual to finally tell him about them, because she had to hear his opinion. It wasn't just a simple matter for her, and she really needed to speak about it.

Because if two weeks had passed since their fight with Regina in the woods, and if she'd wondered what to do more than once since then, she hadn't called her parents Mom and Dad again. She hadn't called them David and Snow either, because she didn't want them to feel like she was pushing them away, so she'd just avoided their names altogether, and it was beginning to really annoy her. They hadn't tried to ask her about it, and if she was grateful because they were giving her the time she needed to think, she really wanted advice about this entire situation. Killian seemed like the perfect choice to give her what she was looking for, as always.

He held her a bit closer to him and said, sounding a bit worried. "What's the matter, love? Are you feeling unwell again?"

"I'm fine, babe." She answered immediately, dropping a little kiss to his collarbone in order to comfort him, and she felt him relaxing against her. "I promise. It's just that, now that I'm awake for once… I want to ask your opinion about something."

"I'm all ears." He replied, and she could feel how relieved he was that she was finally behaving like herself again.

"You know, I haven't talked to you about it, but after we escaped from Regina, something happened with my parents… I kinda panicked." She hesitated, not really knowing how to explain the scene that had occurred. "I'd been so scared of losing them both, and when I saw that they were safe, I didn't think about what I was doing and I called them Mom and Dad."

The answer he gave her wasn't the one she'd expected, and she couldn't help but raise her eyebrows in surprise. "I know. Your father told me."

"He did?" She asked, completely taken aback by his revelation. "Well, that's a surprise. Who would have thought that you two would get along so well when you first met, huh?"

"Certainly not me." He chuckled, before continuing more seriously. "I didn't tell you about it, because I knew that you would talk to me if you wanted to, and I didn't want to push you."

"And what did he say?" She asked, curious to know more.

"That it had touched him and that it'd taken him and Snow by surprise, but that he wasn't expecting you to call them like that again, and that he was hoping you knew that."

Emma thought about it for a second before continuing, already feeling so relieved to know that no matter what was going to happen now, she wouldn't disappoint her parents. "That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. I wanted to know your opinion because… I have no idea if I want to keep on calling them like that. I mean, it's a huge thing. I only know them for a few months, and if I know that they're my parents, it's still crazy to think about it sometimes. I don't know if I'm ready. I know that I shouldn't, but I'm afraid of getting hurt again."

"It's natural to feel that way, my love." He said, gently kissing her hair. "You've grown up without them, after all. But I'm sure that they won't ever hurt you, not on purpose anyway. They just want you to be happy. If you're not ready though, I think that you shouldn't try to force it. It'll come on its own if you want it to. Your parents know that you care about them, and it's what matters the most. You have to listen to your heart on this. It's always right."

She took a deep breath and buried herself a little bit deeper in his embrace, feeling like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders at once. "Thank you, Killian. I don't know how you always know exactly what I need to hear, but you're perfect. I love you."

"I love you too, darling. And I'm trying my best. As your parents, I just want you to be happy."

"Thanks to you, I am."

She felt him smile, and he brought her even closer, so she was now almost lying down on top of him. She would usually have started to kiss him again and they would have gone for a second round, but she really was too tired to do anything. The sound of his heartbeats was rocking her to sleep, and she just stayed still as he was gently stroking her spine, saying in a low voice.

"Sleep now, love. I'm staying right here."

"Good." She murmured as an answer.

She fell asleep a few seconds later, a small smile still drawn on her lips.

* * *

"Emma? I'm sorry to wake you, darling, but I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go out for a little bit? It's really nice outside, and it'll do you a world of good."

Emma was half asleep, wrapped in her blankets and ignoring the heat of the bedroom. She blinked a few times after hearing her husband's voice, and she rolled on her back to be able to look at him. She smiled, trying to erase his worried look. He was staring at her as if she were about to collapse, and she tried to wake up completely in order to show him that she was alright. Besides, he was right. She couldn't possibly stay in bed all day. The sun was shining in the summer sky, and it would have been a pity to miss it.

She hadn't gone out of the apartment for a couple of days, too tired once again to do anything else but sleep. Yet, she wasn't feeling bad aside from her exhaustion. She could feel dizzy from time to time, but she was certain that she was fine.

Killian had insisted for the Blue Fairy to come back and make sure that she was okay though, because this was going on for weeks now and it was starting to get long. But still, nothing had changed. Their friend hadn't found a thing, and had only advised her to rest. At least there was no sign of a curse around her, and it was good news. She just had to sleep it off and she would be alright eventually.

Killian still seemed more concerned than ever. He was growing more and more scared that something they knew nothing about was happening to her, and she really just wanted to show him that she was okay. So despite how weak she was feeling, she sat up and stretched a bit before answering sleepily.

"Sure. Let's go out in the park, it's a beautiful day."

"I don't want you to feel forced, Swan." He added, placing his hand on her forehead yet another time to make sure that she wasn't running a fever, as if he were expecting her to get sick all of the sudden. "If you feel too tired, you should rest. I'm just worried."

"I know you are." She replied with a small smile. "And I am tired. But I can't stop living because of that either. I'll be fine."

She rose from the bed with a huge yawn to get to her wardrobe and put on one of her tunics. Killian smiled back all while looking at her and he stated. "The lad is going to be so happy. He's been asking to go out in the park since the moment he woke up. He'll be thrilled that you're joining us."

Emma's grin widened at that. Three weeks had passed since Regina's attack and the Evil Queen hadn't shown herself ever since, as the kingdom had seemed to find a bit of balance back. They were all well aware that she would come back eventually and that they would have to fight again, but they were simply enjoying this moment of quiet as much as they possibly could before the next storm that was coming.

Despite the fact that the witch had seemed to disappear again, Henry was more afraid to lose them than ever. He wanted to stay with his parents as much as he could to make sure that they were alright, and Emma could tell how terrified he'd been that damned night when everything had crumbled. He was just so scared of it happening all over again.

She would have done anything for her little boy to feel better, but she could easily understand the reason why he was so anxious. Regina's threat was still hanging above their heads, because they had no idea of when she would try to strike again. There had to be a reason why she still hadn't come back, and she was probably planning something else, something even bigger than the last time she'd come.

Emma wished that they knew where she was hiding, but it would have been too easy. They'd of course sent guards to the structure lost in the middle of the woods, but they'd found it empty and abandoned, and it was obvious to everyone that the Evil Queen wasn't there. Wherever she was now, she was plotting something that would make everything shift again, Emma could feel it in her bones.

Still, even if they were ready at all time, she wanted them to enjoy these moments as everything seemed to have gone back to normal, even if it wasn't real. If it really was the stress that was causing her exhaustion, she needed to relax and try not worry too much. Killian was doing everything for her to feel better, too. He was pampering her even more than usual, even bringing some of her meals to their bed and doing everything in his power so she wouldn't exhaust herself. She was so grateful for him, she couldn't even express it anymore.

He came to wrap his arms around her as she'd just got dressed, gluing his chest to her back and dropping little kisses to her cheek. She sighed in happiness and turned slightly to bury her face in the crook of his neck for a second. She always felt so safe in his arms, surrounded by his familiar presence. She knew that they could do anything together, and she had no doubt that they would defeat Regina eventually. They just needed to stay strong. Everything was going to be okay.

She really hoped that this walk through the park was going to reassure him about her health, though. She knew that it was going to get better soon, she could feel it, but she really just wanted him to stop being so concerned. They were all fine, and they would continue to be. They wouldn't give up.

After a few more minutes spent in each other's arms, they ended up leaving the room to find Henry curled up in the sofa, reading a book. He looked up when he saw them approaching, and his entire face lit up, telling her that she'd made the right choice by accepting to go out with her two boys. He stood up and came to join them, asking happily.

"Are you feeling good enough to come outside with us?"

"Of course, kid. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

His smile widened, and they soon went out of the apartment to go enjoy the summer sun. Emma's head was spinning a little as she wasn't totally out of her sleep yet, but she didn't complain and followed her family without saying a thing about how she was feeling. She knew that it was going to pass eventually, and the entire point of this walk was to reassure her loved ones. She certainly wasn't going to admit that she wasn't feeling too good, and concern them even more.

They quickly went to the center of the castle to spend a few minutes with her parents there, who hugged her and immediately asked her if she was feeling any better. They were deeply worried too, but she comforted them with a little smile. She really was fine, and as Killian had said, the outside air was going to do her a lot of good, she could tell.

Except that she hadn't expected the heat to be that stifling in the gardens. It was so hot outside that she immediately broke into a sweat, and the sunlight seemed to suddenly be blinding her. She didn't tell anything about her surprise though, and she just took Killian's hand as they were following one of the paths, decorated with flowers, fountains and statues.

They started to talk instantly, sharing jokes and laughter as they were moving. The first part of the walk happened in such a good mood, Emma didn't even think about regretting to have left her bed for this. But soon, she started to get tired again. Her legs felt weak, as if she were going to fall over, and the heat was making her head spin quite violently as she felt like she couldn't breathe properly anymore.

She tried to pretend like everything was okay for a while, but it soon became too much for her to bear. Black spots were starting to invade her vision, and she pressed Killian's fingers, opening her mouth to ask him if they could go sit down for a bit, trying not to panic at the unpleasant sensations she was feeling arising in her. Her husband immediately noticed what was happening though, because he turned to her and asked, frowning.

"Emma, are you okay, love? You look quite pale..."

She met the concerned look her son was giving her, and she wanted to nod in order to reassure them both, but the movement made her feel horribly nauseous. She winced and let go of Killian's fingers to press her hand against her stomach, as if trying to curb the pain. The sun seemed even brighter than before, and she felt like it was all she could see anymore. Everything became very blurry, and her head was spinning so much that she wasn't sure of where she was.

"Emma?" Killian insisted in a deep voice.

She felt her legs giving up before she could do anything to stop them. Killian caught her before she hit the ground, calling her name over and over again, but she just couldn't answer him. And then everything went black.

* * *

"Henry, can you go get your grandparents for me, please? Tell them that Emma's passed out, and that she needs help." Killian's voice said above her head, sounding vaguely distorted and deeply concerned. "Don't worry, lad." He added kindly. "I'm sure that she's fine. It's probably just the heat and your mum is the strongest person that I know. But I need you to go get someone, aye?"

Emma heard steps walking away from them, and she could feel Killian's presence just above her as she was slowly coming back to reality. She could also sense the grass underneath her back as he'd probably laid her down on the ground, and his fingers were gently playing with her hair, as if silently begging her to wake up. Most of all, she could feel how absolutely terrified he was, despite his reassuring words to their son. And it pushed her to finally open her eyes again.

She winced slightly when the light of the sun blinded her. Her stomach was still painful but she ignored it completely, forgetting everything when she heard her husband sighing in relief, because he was all that mattered anymore. His hand gently came down to cup her cheek as she was looking up at him, and he asked, his voice a little bit broken.

"Oh, darling. How are you feeling?"

"Fine. As fine as I could all things considered." She said, and she could see how deeply relieved he was that she was talking as if nothing at all had happened.

She smiled, just wanting him to feel better. His blue eyes were shining with tears, and he helped her to sit back up, gently stroking her back and obviously not wanting to let go of her in the near future. Her nausea was slowly starting to get better, and she briefly wondered why the hell she'd fainted so suddenly. Still, she knew that the most important thing was to reassure Killian right now, and she asked, knowing that seeing her talking normally was going to show him that she really was okay.

"For how long did I stay unconscious?"

"I don't know. It seemed like an eternity to me, but no more than a few seconds." He admitted, making her smile tenderly. "I've asked the lad to go get your parents. Are you hurting somewhere because of the fall?"

"No, thanks to a certain someone who got me right on time. Good catch, by the way."

He only vaguely smiled at her joke and continued, still looking extremely worried. "What happened?"

"I have no idea." She shrugged, trying to ease his nervousness, because she really was feeling okay, now. "I was tired and I felt a bit dizzy. And all of the sudden, everything became too much. It's probably just the heat or something. I haven't eaten much today either, so that didn't help. I feel fine now, though. I promise."

"I'm glad to hear that, love. We're going to get you back to our room and you'll be able to eat something, it'll make you feel better. You've scared me for a second, there." He added, trying to smile at her but she could see how afraid he'd actually been, as he seemed about to start crying now that he knew that she really was alright.

'Oh, Killian, I'm sorry." She said, deeply touched by his reaction. "This walk was supposed to make us all feel better. I'm sorry that it ended this way."

"Don't you apologize, darling, it certainly isn't your fault. I just wish that you could feel better, soon."

"I'm sure I will." She promised, because she really just wanted him to stop worrying so much.

"I'm happy that you feel like that. Can you stand up?" He continued after a second of silence. "Let's get you back inside, alright?"

She nodded because she really was feeling like herself again, and standing up didn't seem like such a hard thing to do despite what had just happened. He reached for her hand to help her get back on her feet, and she didn't stumble this time, taking a deep breath and enjoying the fact that she was feeling perfectly okay.

Killian still insisted to keep his arm around her waist as they were walking, as if he were scared that she was going to collapse again, and she didn't make any comment about it. She knew how worried he'd been, and feeling her close was reassuring him. So they just walked like this, wrapped in a tight embrace as he was glancing at her every few seconds to make sure that she was still fine.

A few minutes later, Emma noticed the three figures that were walking in their direction, and she immediately waved at her family to show them that she was alright. She couldn't see their faces yet, but she could easily guess their fear. Henry ran to her and hugged her tightly, and she embraced him back, kissing the top of his head as he was holding her close against him. He seemed so relieved to see her back up too, and she held him for a while until he pulled away to start talking.

"I'm so glad to see you back on your feet, Mom. You scared us a little. Are you feeling better?"

"I'm feeling fine, kiddo. I guess it was just the heat." She comforted him, briefly running her fingers through his dark locks with a smile. "I'm going to get some rest and I'll be as good as new. You don't have to worry about me."

"Maybe you should have stayed in bed in the first place." He winced, suddenly looking a bit guilty. "I'm sorry. I'm the one who wanted this walk in the park, and I should have known that it wasn't a good idea."

"Hey, don't apologize, it wasn't you fault." She gently interrupted him. "I'm happy I've got to be outside with you and your dad for a bit. I really am okay, and you did nothing wrong."

He smiled, looking a bit reassured by the fact that she seemed like her usual self again, and he hugged her one more time as her parents were finally arriving next to them as well. They were both looking at her with deep frowns, and she grinned again, because she really didn't want her family to be that concerned about her. They had enough to deal with because of everything that was happening with Regina already. She was going to be fine eventually.

"Maybe you should see a healer." Snow said after asking Emma how she was feeling. "Things seem to get worse, and it can't go on like this."

"I'm not sure it'd help." She refused quickly, because this idea really wasn't appealing to her. "Blue said that I was fine, and if she didn't see anything with her magic, a healer can't help me either. Besides, I'm just tired. It's not such a big deal."

She was so sure that choosing to go see a real physician was only going to make things worse, because the healer wouldn't find anything and it would only worry her family even more. And she could tell that what was happening to her wasn't bad. She felt different somehow, but it didn't feel like a curse or something that was there to hurt her, despite her exhaustion. She just felt like a new person, maybe because of everything that she'd been through lately, and she knew that she would get through this. She'd been through much worse, and she didn't want her family to always be so scared about her.

Killian didn't seem convinced by her arguments though, because he shook his head and insisted. "Your mother is right, love. We have to know what's happening to you."

She sighed, knowing that he wasn't going to give up, and she finally decided, hoping that it wouldn't come to this. "Alright, then. If I pass out again or if I feel like I'm getting worse, I'll see a healer. But not right now, okay? I'm sure that I'm alright and that I just need to rest. I'll get better soon."

Killian only seemed half satisfied with her answer but he didn't try to argue again, because he knew that she wouldn't change her mind either. He just briefly buried his face in her hair to breathe her in, as if to make sure that she was real, and she held him close to her in order to reassure him. When he pulled away, he seemed to feel a little bit better and he whispered to her ear.

"Alright, come one, now. We should go inside. You'll feel better there."

He didn't leave her side for a second as they were going back to their apartment, and she didn't protest because feeling him close was comforting for her too. She also knew that taking care of her was reassuring him, so she didn't say anything and let him pamper her. She lied down on their bed and Henry stayed beside her as her husband was heading for the kitchen to get her something to eat, looking a bit disappointed that he had to leave them even if it was only for a little while.

She wasn't feeling hungry at all, but she didn't want to say it out loud and make him think that she really was sick. So she just let him cook her something, deciding that she could force herself to eat it, anything to make him feel better. He only came back in the room a while later as she was talking with her son, laughing and joking with him as he finally seemed completely reassured about her well-being. She however immediately winced at the tray Killian was carrying with him, the smell coming from it making her nauseous all over again.

"Did you cook fish?" She asked in disgust.

"It's good for you, love. It's full of vitamins." He said, placing the tray on the bed beside her. "It'll help you feel better."

She stared at the plate as if it were about to bite her, and she felt like she was going to gag at the sight. She'd never liked fish that much in the first place, but it'd never had this effect on her before. She couldn't even look at it, so eating it seemed out of the question. She looked back up at Killian, shaking her head to show him that she just couldn't do it.

"I'm not hungry. Especially not for fish."

"Come on, Swan." He tried to encourage her, looking so worried all over again. "You need to get some strengths back. Please, I just want you to get better."

She wanted to tell him that she was feeling sick just by looking at the thing, but she gave up on this idea when she saw how distraught he already looked. So instead, she sighed because she knew full well that she was going to do anything in her power to comfort him just a little bit. She rolled her eyes, grabbed her fork and made a face at her dinner, making Henry laugh at her expression.

She glanced back at Killian and said, annoyed but also knowing that she would have done anything for him. "You're lucky that I love you."

"Very lucky, indeed." He kindly winked at her. "Just eat half of it, at least. I'm sure that it's going to help."

She winced again as she was swallowing the first bite of her meal, and he leaned to press a little kiss on her forehead as a quiet thank you. She felt herself melting on the spot and, suddenly, she wasn't regretting her decision anymore. She just wanted her family to stop being so concerned, and if she had to ingest this for that to happen, she was going to do it gladly.

* * *

"I will never eat fish again in my life!" Emma stated angrily, her head leaning above the latrines in the bathroom she was sharing with Killian.

She got interrupted by another wave of nausea, and she threw up once more, grunting at how painful this all was. Killian was looking like he had no idea of what to do to make her feel better anymore. He was holding her hair back with his hook and was gently stroking her back with a somewhat shaky hand, but other than that, they both knew that he couldn't do much. They just had to wait for all of this to be over.

The moment seemed to last an eternity for Emma, even if she knew it only went on for a few short minutes in reality. Feeling like her stomach was finally completely empty, she looked up and leaned against the closest wall to try and catch her breath, her eyes closed and wincing at the pain she was experiencing.

"I'm so sorry." Killian said, anxiously chewing on his bottom lip. "I just wanted to make you feel better, I should have listened to you. I'm sorry this is happening."

"Don't feel guilty, babe, it's not your fault." She reassured him, trying to smile so he wouldn't feel too bad. "You couldn't have known that this fish was spoiled."

"Do you think that this is about that?" He asked nervously.

She could easily understand his reaction, given their past. The last time she'd had food poisoning, she'd almost died because of it. They didn't have anything to eat back then, and he was probably reliving this terror of not knowing what to do to save her. But things were luckily so different now. She had all the medical help she needed to get through this, and she wasn't worried. It wasn't nice, but she knew that she would be okay again in a few short days.

"I don't see another reason why I would have gotten sick." She shrugged, then added to comfort him. "Don't look like that, Killian. It's nothing like last time, we're safe here and I'll be okay."

"I know." He nodded, sighing slightly. "It's just bringing back bad memories."

"Well, I'm probably going to go through a few hard days, but I'll be fine after that." She promised gently. "Try not to be too worried about it, alright?"

"Of course I'm worried, you're my wife." He protested, making her smile. "I've asked Henry to go ask your parents if they could go and find the Blue Fairy, so we can be sure of what's happening. She'll be here soon."

He gently took her hand to help her get back on her feet and she used the bucket of water he'd gone to fetch earlier, to wash her face and try to forget about this horrible moment. She stumbled to the bed, collapsing on it with another little grunt as her stomach was still feeling dangerously fragile. She felt like she had no strength left in her entire body, and she was just relieved that she was done vomiting for now. Killian immediately came to sit beside her, his hand on her shoulder as if to try and show his support, even if he couldn't do much more than that.

She'd been woken up from her deep sleep by a horrible nausea, and she'd just had the time to jump out of bed and sprint to the bathroom. Killian had been by her side in less than a second, calling Henry so he would go and ask her parents for help. They'd apparently decided that getting the Blue Fairy was a good idea and Emma didn't want to start protesting about that again, but she knew what this was about already and her friend wouldn't be of much help. This damn fish that Killian had made her eat to get better had been spoiled. She had food poisoning, in addition to everything, and she was going to suffer from it for a few days at least.

"I don't think that I'll ever trust your skills in the kitchen like I used to again." She tried to joke so her husband would finally smile and stop frowning so deeply. She wasn't dying, and she just wanted to show him that this wasn't as bad as he thought it was.

"I'm sorry." He simply repeated without grinning one bit. "You really didn't need this, you're already exhausted..."

"Sweetie, I was kidding." She corrected him, taking his hook in a sweet gesture. "It's unpleasant, but I'll be fine. It really isn't your fault. You couldn't have guessed what was going to happen, you were just trying to take care of me."

He finally gave her a very small smile at that, looking only half convinced by her words, and he lied down beside her. She immediately came to snuggle against him, knowing that she hopefully wouldn't get sick again for a few more hours and that she could as well enjoy his presence in the meantime. She buried her face in the crook of his neck as he was gently stroking her side, and she smiled. Despite her exhaustion and this sudden sickness, she felt like nothing really bad could happen to her while he was by her side. And she was still falling a bit deeper in love with him with each passing day.

They heard gentle knocks on their door a few minutes later, and the Blue Fairy, her parents and their son entered their room to find them hugging in the bed. They all smiled, tenderized by the fact that Killian was comforting her while she was going through this, and she winked at Henry to show him that she was okay as he looked as worried as his father was. Her little boy smiled at that, and Blue approached the bed as she was rolling on her back to look at her friend.

"I heard that you were sick."

"I probably just ate a bad thing." Emma shrugged. "I'm sure that it isn't as bad as everybody seems to think it is."

"I'm going to make sure of that." Blue smiled at her reply.

Emma knew that Killian had thought about her first because she could detect things that a normal healer couldn't thanks to her magic, even if she wasn't a trained physician. If something really was wrong with her, she would be able to tell them. She placed her wand a few inches above Emma's breast, and they all waited for something to happen as a dim blue light was enlightening the room. The fairy stayed like this for a long time, then she finally frowned, which seemed to worry Killian even more. Holding his wife's hand, he asked.

"What's going on?"

"I can't find anything." Blue admitted, looking deeply confused. "And that's odd, because I should at least sense the poisoning, but I don't feel a thing."

"What the bloody hell do you mean by that?" Killian answered, looking almost offended by the news. "Something has to be happening, she's exhausted for weeks and now she's sick! It's not normal!"

"Babe, calm down." Emma tempered, gently pressing his fingers to comfort him. "I know that you're worried, but what's happening to me isn't anyone's fault."

"Besides, it's a good sign." The Blue Fairy added, not looking upset by the harsh tone Killian had used to talk. "If it's food poisoning and I can't see it, it means that it isn't bad, and Emma definitely doesn't have any curse around her. You'll probably feel better in no time. Drink a lot of water, and just rest. I'm sorry that I can't help you more than that, but without an answer on what's actually wrong, I can't really give you any advice."

"That's okay. Thank you for coming." Emma smiled to try and reassure Blue, because it wasn't her fault if she couldn't find what was happening after all.

Killian still seemed to be quite angry at their friend for her answer though, because he grunted a simple thank you without smiling, and stared at her as she was leaving the room. Snow and David went to walk her out, while their son was coming to join them in their bed. They found themselves alone again, Henry anxiously glancing at the both of them and waiting for what Killian was about to say, because he really seemed pretty mad now. After a couple of seconds of silence, he suddenly cried out, looking absolutely outraged.

"I can't believe that she dared to say that nothing was going on. Can you imagine?"

"Don't be angry at her, she's done what she could." Emma sat up to look at him more easily. "And Killian, I'm fine. I'm going to get better."

"You're saying that for weeks, but it isn't happening!" He stubbornly shook his head. "Something's off, and it's gone on for far too long already. The fairy isn't a physician. I want a real healer's opinion.

"Babe..." She tried to protest, but he interrupted her, looking almost pleading now.

"I refuse to see you suffering like this without doing a thing about it. I want to go see a professional. I just want you to get better, Swan."

"Fine." She sighed, surrendering because she couldn't bear to see him in such distress. "You know what? If it's food poisoning, it'll be over in a few days. If I'm still sick in a week from now, it means that it isn't about that so we'll go see a healer. He'll probably tell us that I have nothing and you'll finally be reassured."

He hesitated for a second before nodding reluctantly, because he knew that he wouldn't make her change her mind. "Alright, then. Let's do that."

She smiled at him, happy to see that they'd come to an agreement, and he finally returned her gin. She yawned then, exhausted by the last events, and she laid back down in the bed as her son was coming to hug her. She held him close and her smile didn't waver. If Killian was worried, she wasn't. She knew that whatever was happening, it wasn't bad or dangerous, she could feel it in her bones. She just needed to give a bit of this confidence to her husband, and for that, she gestured for him to come and join the embrace. Everything was going to be just fine, she could tell.

* * *

"How are you feeling, darling?" Killian asked, entering the room as it was only enlightened by the dim light of a few candles, the night having already settled outside.

He'd probably asked her that same question a thousand times in the last four days, ever since the Blue Fairy had come to tell her that she couldn't see anything wrong with her. She didn't make any comment about it though, because she knew that he was genuinely worried. So she just nodded and smiled, sitting up to lean against the headboard. For once, she wasn't only pretending to feel okay, and it came as such a relief that she couldn't erase the grin from her face.

She hadn't thrown up for the entire day, which her stomach was definitely very grateful for, and if she was still feeling a bit weak, she wasn't as tired as usual. She finally felt like herself again, and her entire family seemed so relieved about that. Killian was still pampering her though, making sure that she had everything she could ever wish for as the perfect husband that he was. It was only making her fall in love with him all over again, and she was so glad to see that he didn't look terrified anymore, now that she seemed to be healed at last.

He came to sit down next to her on the bed, and he looked at her for a moment, as if to make sure that she was telling him the truth. She knew that he could always tell when she was pretending to be fine, and since it wasn't the case this time, it seemed to make him very happy. He leaned to press a little kiss on her lips and he interlaced his fingers with hers to say in a low voice.

"The lad is already asleep, and we have leftovers from dinner in the kitchen. Do you want to try and eat something ? Maybe it'll give you some of strength back."

She'd only eaten soup for the last few days to make sure that her stomach could get the rest it needed, and Killian's offer was appealing to say the least. But even if she really wanted to accept, she was too scared to get sick again. She placed her free hand on her stomach, made a face and said. "Maybe it's too soon for that. I don't want to start throwing up again."

"You said it yourself, Swan." He kindly insisted. "If it really was food poisoning, you should be healed by now. If you get sick again, it means that it wasn't about that bloody fish in the first place. And you need to start eating normally again soon. You're losing weight, and I don't want you to get even sicker."

"I know." She sighed, aware that he was right. "I just don't want to push myself too hard."

"But you can get even worse if you keep on not eating. I'm worried, love. I just want you to feel okay again."

"I know you are." She said tenderly, before adding in a teasing tone. "Maybe I'm just trying to find excuses, because I really did lose my trust in your cooking skills."

"Oi! You wound me, darling." He said, pretending to be deeply offended and making her laugh out loud. He had a small smile and added softly. "If you're teasing me again, it means that you really are feeling better, and I couldn't be happier about it. I promise you that I'm not planning on offering you fish this time, though. Just a piece of bread, to try and see what's happening. Aye?"

"Alright." She finally accepted after a little hesitation, knowing that she couldn't carry on for much longer like that anyway. "But if I get sick, it's your fault!"

He chuckled, getting up to head for their kitchen. "If you get sick again, we'll see a healer once and for all. I have to remind you that we both agreed on that!"

"That we did." She smiled as he was disappearing behind the door.

He came back a few minutes later, carrying a tray with bread and cheese on it. He sat down next to her as she was testing the food, staring at her with a little frown. Despite her fear of throwing up again, she really was hungry for the first time in days, and she happily dug into her supper. She was probbaly worrying for nothing, anyway. Her stomach seemed fine for now, and she wanted to make the most of it while she could.

There was nothing left in her plate a few minutes later, when she lied back down with a happy smile. One hand on her stomach as if to protect it from getting sick again, she was already feeling much better now that she'd ingested a real meal. Killian was smiling too, and he gently ran his fingers through her hair as she was saying in a low voice.

"I'm feeling so much better today. Gods, that feels good."

"I'm so happy to hear that, love. All I want is for you to be happy and healthy, always."

Instead of answering his sweet statement with words, she decided that there was a better way to make him even happier, and to show him that she really was okay again. She could as well enjoy this new energy that had arisen in her, too. So she playfully raised her eyebrows at him, and he seemed to know exactly what she had in mind before she even moved, because he smirked back at her. She rolled to straddle him then, and he chuckled when her long blond hair fell in front of her face to come tickle his bare chest as she was leaning above him.

She didn't wait any longer to start kissing him, first slowly, then more and more passionately until she made him moan against her lips. His fingers immediately started to play in her back, tugging at her nightgown and making her shiver as he was meeting the naked skin underneath the piece of clothing. He only pulled away for a second to look at her, his eyes darkened with lust, and he said.

"I like seeing you like this."

"I like being like this, too." She murmured against his mouth. "At least it means that we can do this again."

He grinned at that, and she pulled her lips away from his to go kiss his jaw, his neck, his stomach as she was hearing the pace of his breathing fastening at what she was making him feel. He sighed when she reached the place he needed her the most and she took him inside her mouth, making him gasp again and gently cradle her head to encourage her.

She woke up much later, as she'd fallen asleep in his arms. She hadn't bothered to put on her nightgown again, staying naked next to her husband, but she was suddenly feeling really hot. It didn't feel natural, and a cold sweat was covering her forehead as her entire body was shivering unpleasantly. She only realized then that she'd actually been awakened by the pain in her stomach. And she just had the time to get out of bed and rush to the bathroom again, throwing up one more time and wincing at the thought that it wasn't over after all.

She felt Killian beside her barely a few seconds later, even if she hadn't heard him getting up as well. He gently stroked her back, as always when she would find herself in this position, and she could feel how shaky and nervous his gestures were. They'd both thought that she'd got better, and he was obviously very anxious to see that it wasn't the case. Tears were streaming down her face at the pain she was experiencing, and she just hoped that it would be over soon, because she wasn't sure for how much longer she could stand this.

When she finally felt like she had nothing left to throw up, she leaned back against a wall and tried to take some deep breaths, wiping off the tears from her face. Killian placed his hand on her naked leg, and she could read in his eyes that he didn't even know what to say to comfort her anymore. So she forced herself to start talking first so he wouldn't start panicking, and said with a small shrug.

"Told you I was gonna be sick again."

"I'm so sorry." He apologized. "Are you okay?"

"It's not your fault, I thought that it was over too." She tried to reassure him. "Obviously, I was wrong."

"We'll go get a healer tomorrow, my love." He decided with a frown. "This can't go on like this, and it's obviously worse than food poisoning. You need help."

She didn't try to protest this time. She'd promised him that they would see a real physician if things didn't change, and she knew that he was right and that it was worse than what she'd thought at first. So she simply nodded and tried to keep on breathing deeply, as he was helping her to get back up and wash her mouth to get rid of the last memories of this horrible moment.

Killian immediately took her in his arms when they lied back down in bed, kissing the top of her head in a sweet gesture. She was exhausted now, and she just wanted to sleep. So she buried herself a bit deeper in his embrace, and she was already half asleep when she heard him promising her in a whisper.

"Everything is going to be fine. We'll get you all better, I promise."

"I know." She answered sleepily. "As long as I'm with you, I know that I'm safe."

He sighed slightly at that and held her just a little bit closer as she was diving into a dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what do you think is happening to Emma? I can't wait to read your thougthts about this! See you soon!


	33. Chapter 33

Emma opened her eyes the next morning and got out of her deep sleep, only to get attacked by yet another wave of violent nausea. And everything happened like it had for the last five days, as she was sprinting to the bathroom to throw up once again. She was seriously starting to wonder when she would finally be able to live in peace. First she was too exhausted to do anything else but sleep, and now she was passing out and vomiting every single one of her meals. She just wanted for all of this to be over. She just wished she could live a normal life again.

She knew that this wasn't about food poisoning now, because what was going on was obviously way worse than that. She wasn't feeling strong enough to try and find another reason to explain this situation, though. She just wanted to sleep and she prayed that it could be over soon, because she wasn't that sure she could stand this for much longer.

She would usually have joked to reassure Killian and show him that he didn't have anything to worry about, but she didn't even feel good enough to do so this time. She really wanted to erase this spark of panic from his eyes, but for the first time, she was actually starting to get a bit scared too. They had no idea of what was happening to her, and she knew that her body couldn't take much more of this. So she didn't talk when she collapsed against the closest wall to try and catch her breath, tears streaming down her face. She really just wanted for all of this to be a bad dream, and to wake up from it at last.

Killian had been beside her for the entire time, as always, and he came to wrap his arms around her and hold her close, as if to give her a little bit of his strength. He murmured to her ear that everything was going to be alright, and he brought her a bucket of water so she could wash her mouth when she was done crying. He almost had to carry her to their bed after that, as her legs were shaking underneath her and refusing to support her weight. It worried her a lot, to feel herself being so weakened by this sickness. If she couldn't keep something down really soon, she wasn't sure of what was going to happen to her.

"I'll go get a healer." Killian decided, stroking her hair as she was lying back down on her pillows and trying to ease the sudden dizziness that she was feeling arise in her again. "He'll know what to do to help you feel better."

"You can ask my parents to call their usual one." Emma answered weakly, trying but failing to smile in order to reassure him. "He'll be there in no time."

"I know that we have one here, but I've heard about a man who lives in town, and who can apparently work miracles. I want him to see you. I'm sure that he'll be able to tell us what's going on."

"Killian." She said gently, taking his hook and looking straight into his eyes. "I know that the situation is pretty bad, but I'm not dying either. Maybe we should leave this healer alone, so he can attend to those who really need him."

"You're sick for weeks, Emma!" He cried out, suddenly looking a bit angry because of her words. "You're exhausted, you're throwing up everything you're trying to eat, and no one knows what's happening to you. If someone can help you, it's him and I know it. You need him. I refuse to let my wife suffer like this. I just want you to get better, you hear me?"

His voice broke all of the sudden, and tears of distress appeared in his gorgeous blue eyes. Emma truly saw how horrified he was about the situation then, because he just wanted it to be over and for her to feel okay again. Seeing him like this made her want to start crying as well. He was scared of losing her, because he couldn't do anything to help her. Going to fetch a healer himself would give him the illusion that he had some control over what was happening, and she certainly wasn't going to take that away from him.

He just didn't want to see her getting weaker and weaker, and slowly fading away. They loved each other so much, and he was so afraid of watching her slipping through his fingers without being able to do anything to stop it. She knew that losing her and Henry was his biggest fear. He just didn't want to see them go. He didn't want to lose anyone ever again, like he'd lost Milah, Liam, and everyone else in his life.

So she forced herself to sit back up and wrapped her arms around him, her head resting on his shoulder and her fingers running through his hair to try and comfort him. He let go of a shaky sigh and buried his face in the crook of her neck, holding her close to his heart as if to convince himself that she was okay. She kept on trying to soothe him for a few minutes, then she whispered to his ear, just trying to reassure him.

"You're not going to lose me, babe. I promise. Whatever is happening, I'm going to fight for you and Henry. I won't let you lose anyone ever again, and I'll get better. For you, I'd do anything. I plan on staying with you for years to come, and nothing is going to stop me from doing just that. I'm afraid that you're going to have to bear with me for the next few decades, captain." She added with a small smile to try and relax him a bit. "Because I'm not going anywhere."

"I believe you, my love." He said, dropping one little kiss to her neck. "But I don't want to take any risk either. I want you to see the best healer there is, so he can finally help us. And then I'll be totally reassured."

He gently pulled away from her, as her words had seemed to have a bit of an effect on him. He didn't seem about to start crying anymore, and it made her sigh in relief. She cupped his cheek to be able to look at him more easily, and she offered him a small smile. Then she added, trying to show him that despite everything, she was still alright.

"You don't have to go there by yourself though, you know? You can send someone for us."

"I want to do this myself." He just shrugged, trying to smile back at her but it didn't completely reach his eyes. "I want to feel like I'm doing something useful."

"You're helping a lot just by being here by my side." She protested gently. "I love you. You're the best husband and I'm so lucky to have you."

"I love you too, my Swan." He said very softly, as she was playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. "I'm going to go call your parents, so they can stay here with you while I'm gone, alright? I don't want you to be alone while you're feeling this way."

She didn't even try to protest, because she had to admit that staying in this big room by herself wasn't such an appealing idea. She needed to talk to someone, so she could take her mind off the fact that she wasn't feeling too good for a little bit. Killian dropped a kiss to her forehead, and stood up to get out of the room and go call Snow and David, leaving a very anxious Emma behind. She really wanted to know what was wrong with her now, too. She just wanted it to be done already, and for these moments to become bad memories.

She luckily didn't have to stay alone with her thoughts for long. When Killian came back with Snow and David, Henry had already come to join her in the bedroom. He'd vaguely heard the conversation his parents were sharing, and he'd wanted to make sure that his mom was doing okay. She was trying to reassure him, but he was extremely worried too. When his dad entered the room, he instantly asked, looking straight into his eyes as if to make sure that he was going to tell him the truth.

"You're going to find someone to help Mom get better, right?"

"I promise I will, lad." Killian nodded, sitting down on the edge of the bed to briefly hug their son and try to comfort him. "I won't let anything happen to her."

Emma would have wanted to promise them that she was going to get better soon, but she wasn't so sure of that anymore. She was still feeling like the situation wasn't that dangerous, but she was starting to wonder if her instincts weren't wrong this time. This was obviously getting worse, and she really just wanted for someone to tell them what was wrong with her. Maybe this healer that Killian was going to find would be able to help. She really hoped he wouldn't disappoint, anyway.

She offered her parents a weak smile as they were coming into the room, both looking extremely worried as well. They looked so afraid of losing her after just finding her back, and she just wanted to make them understand that she was going to fight for them, and that she had no intention of going anywhere. She wanted to promise that Regina was going to be defeated soon and that they could finally be happy together. But she couldn't do that without lying, and she just had to take things one day at a time and see what was going to happen next. The only thing she was sure of was that she wouldn't give up.

Killian gently placed his hand on her cheek to look at her carefully, and he leaned to press a little kiss to the tip of her nose, making her smile. She felt so loved and safe as he was holding her like this, and she let go of a little sigh as he was promising her one more time.

"I swear that I'm going to go get this healer, Emma, and he's going to make you feel better. Everything is going to be fine after that."

"I don't doubt it." She smiled, looking up at him.

He didn't answer anything, but kissed her hair again before rising from the bed and walking to the door. He glanced at her one last time before disappearing behind it, and she had the awful feeling that he maybe thought it was the last time she was smiling at him like that.

* * *

Emma, her parents and Henry started to talk immediately after that. They all needed to forget about what was happening for a while, and it was doing them all a world of good to simply be able to chat as if everything were absolutely normal.

She was even starting to smile for real as she was feeling a little bit stronger, convinced that she wouldn't start throwing up again for at least a few more hours. Snow had made her a cup of tea that had done wonders to her stomach, and she was truly feeling so much better already. She wished that it could stay that way, and she tried to believe that it would. With a bit of luck, this healer that Killian seemed to believe in so much would come soon to give her some solutions, and everything would finally be okay again

She'd gone to the bathroom for a few minutes in order to take off her nightgown and put on a tunic and pants instead, trying to pretend that everything really was okay. She now had one arm wrapped around Henry's shoulders, as she was sitting cross-legged on her bed, enjoying this moment of quiet and sudden energy beside her family.

She was so glad to be able to spend a bit of time with them. Even if she couldn't have been happier that she now had her own apartment with her boys, her exhaustion and these new sicknesses had stopped her from spending a lot of time with her parents. Since she'd called them Mom and Dad for the first time, they hadn't actually had the opportunity to really talk. So she was just thrilled that she could share a simple conversation with them, even if she still wasn't sure of the way she wanted to call them now. Their presence was reassuring, and she felt like she really could overcome anything with these amazing people by her side.

"Aside from this sickness, marriage seems to work for you." Snow said with a gentle smile, referring to the fact that despite her current state and what had been happening with the Evil Queen, Emma seemed happier than ever since the wedding.

"It is." She answered cheerfully. "I'm married to the man I love, what more could I ask for? And we never thought that we could have this, this big ceremony with all these loved ones around us. So of course we're happy."

"And I get to wear Dad's name too, now." Henry added, making everyone in the room smile tenderly at this. "He's been a father to me for so long, I'm so glad it's official now. Sometimes, I can't even properly remember how our lives were before we met him. It's like we know him forever."

"It does feel like that." Emma agreed. "I just know that we had a hole in our hearts that was shaped just like him before. Ever since he came into our lives, it's like we're finally complete."

"We're so happy to have you at the castle with us, you know." David then stated, looking a bit moved by the emotional conversation Emma had been sharing with her son. "We're so glad that you found your place here so easily. Our hearts used to feel incomplete too before we found the three of you. You're more perfect than we could ever have imagined, and we could never say it enough."

Emma felt tears appearing in her eyes at her father's words, and she answered sincerely. "I'm really happy to be here, too. We all are. We can't imagine our lives any other way, now."

He opened his mouth to answer something that would probably have been beautiful, but Emma never knew what he was about to say. Something stopped him at once, making her blink in confusion. He froze on the spot, his eyes staring at something behind her back. She thought at first that he'd been surprised by an unexpected event and that he simply didn't know how to react, but she realized a bit too late that he'd literally been frozen, and couldn't move. And with that, she understood that something bad was happening and that she was going to have to fight yet another time.

Her eyes fell on Snow, who was now motionless and silent too, and she felt her heart skipping a beat when she realized that Henry was in the same state as well. He was looking up at her, seeming a bit surprised, and her first impulse was to hold him a bit closer, as if to protect him from something she still knew nothing about. She could see in her family's eyes that they knew exactly what was going on around them and that they just couldn't do anything about it. And suddenly, she felt a wave of panic arising in her.

She already knew what was actually happening before turning to meet the cruel smile Regina was offering her, as she was standing near the door of the room. She was casually looking at her, as if her presence there were absolutely normal and she hadn't just broken into the palace to freeze her parents and son out of nowhere.

For a moment, Emma wondered how the hell she'd been able to break through the protection spells Blue had put around the castle. But she quickly understood that it had probably been the reason why she'd stayed hidden for so long. She'd waited to know how to break this magical barrier, to attack them when they would least expect it. She probably knew that Emma was sick too, and she'd decided that it was the perfect moment to hurt them all. She had to admit that the Evil Queen probably hadn't been wrong about that. She was so exhausted that she really didn't know if she was strong enough to face this.

"Very brave of you to come attack me while I'm sick, and to freeze my entire family when I'm not looking." Emma spat out, keeping Henry in her arms in case the witch would try to hurt him first.

She was determined to know what Regina had in mind before trying anything to fight back. Because she didn't have much to defend herself. There was no weapon nearby, as her dagger and sword were somewhere in her wardrobe, unused for weeks as she'd been too tired to train. She couldn't get to them without the Evil Queen noticing it, even if she was using her magic to do so.

She wasn't even sure that she was strong enough to use her powers anyway, given how weak she'd been feeling for the past few weeks. She was still only learning about her magic and had now stopped her lessons, and she was well aware that if she chose to use it anyway, it was going to exhaust her. So she decided to wait and see what was going to happen instead. And she stared at her enemy, her heart beating so fast in her chest because of the panic that she was sure she could hear it too.

"Because attacking me from behind was brave, the last time we saw each other?" Regina sneered at her words, referring to the way she'd managed to stop her from killing Snow the night of their fight.

"You were threatening to kill my family. I was only defending myself." Emma shrugged, trying to look like she wasn't absolutely terrified. The witch could have used her fears against her, and she wasn't going to give her that opportunity.

"It wasn't really fair, no matter what. I would have thought that honor was more important to the Savior. Now, I don't see why all these people seem to like you so much."

"Maybe because I don't try to kill them every time I see them." Emma answered, her jaw clenched and trying to buy herself some time. Maybe the Evil Queen would end up doing something that could tell her about her plan, and she could finally enter the fight. "Why are you doing this, anyway? Why can't you forget about what's happened decades ago? You've forced my parents to leave me all alone. You've made me grow up as an orphan. You've ruined so many lives, isn't this enough?

"It'll never be enough as long as you're alive!" She cried out, suddenly looking absolutely furious. "Snow White ruined my life and stole my only chance at happiness!"

"She was ten! She was only just a child!"

"That doesn't change the fact that this little bitch doesn't deserve happiness after everything she's done. She doesn't deserve to live in a palace and to have the man she loves by her side, while my love was killed because of her. She can't have happiness, and you and your family are bringing this to her. I have to kill you for that."

"You're weak if you think that this is the solution to ease your pain. It'll only bring more in the future." Emma said, trying to make the witch lose her focus.

"You're wrong! And you don't deserve happiness either! You're the daughter of two imbeciles, and you don't have the right to be married to your true love, with this child that will be king one day. This kingdom is mine. I'm the only one who has the right to reign. You deserve to suffer. You all do!"

Emma felt like it was the perfect moment to act. Regina was so mad she seemed to be a bit distracted, and she was then planning on getting back on her feet, tackling her and trying to stop her from causing any more harm. She would have done anything to protect her loved ones from this horrible situation. And if she managed to knock the Evil Queen out right there, she could simply bring her to the dungeons after that. The witch would be locked up forever and everything would finally be over. The war would be done at last.

But Regina guessed her thoughts before she even had the chance to move and try to act upon her idea. All of the sudden, she raised her hand in this gesture that had become so familiar, and that was very obviously announcing something bad. A cloud of purple and thick smoke invaded the room, wrapped around Emma and made her feel like she couldn't breathe anymore.

She felt herself leaving the bed, but she had no idea of what to do to stop this from happening and she felt like she was going to be sick again. She just had the time to see Henry starting to move again as she was disappearing, and she heard him calling after her. But it was too late. She was already gone.

She landed on her knees in an almost empty room, right next to her enemy. She couldn't see clearly because of the darkness surrounding her, since the only window opening on one of the walls was covered by thick curtains. She still understood that she was in an abandoned bedroom, thanks to the bed that was placed not far from her, covered with white sheets so it wouldn't get too dusty. The decoration reminded her of the one in the palace, and she guessed that they were probably still inside the castle, only in a place that she had never seen before.

She stood back up immediately, ready to defend herself. She had forgotten everything about how weak and sick she'd been feeling for days. She just needed to get herself out of there. Regina just smiled at her though, obviously not feeling threatened at all. She was well aware that Emma wasn't strong enough to use her magic normally after everything she'd been through lately. The witch was thinking that she'd won already, but she certainly wasn't going to give up that easily.

She was actually waiting for the right moment to run to the door, get out of there and try to call for help. She knew all too well that this wasn't the best plan, but she needed to do something, to convince herself that she wasn't going to die in there. She always managed to find a solution. She just needed to buy herself some time. She was going to get out of there in one piece, she had no other choice.

"Where are we?" She asked, staring at Regina to be ready if she tried anything to attack her.

"Inside the castle." The Evil Queen simply shrugged. "Not far from where you live. I want your family to find you as quickly as possible."

Emma couldn't understand this last statement and she asked, surprised. "Why the hell would you want something like that?"

"Because I want them to watch you die without being able to do anything to save you."

It was too much for Emma, and she knew that she had to do something. She looked at Regina for one more second, prayed to every gods she could think of so her simple plan would work, and she ran to the door. But she wasn't as fast as she'd hoped she would be given how shaky and weak her legs felt, and her enemy understood what she wanted to do right away. And as she'd finally reached the door and was trying to open it, she realized without much of a surprise that it was locked and that she was stuck inside.

She took a step back, trying to summon her magic because there wasn't much left to do. But Regina was faster once again, and Emma saw the handle of the door freezing suddenly, literal ice covering it. Not understanding what was going on, she blinked in surprise and tried to open it anyway, but it just wouldn't move. It's only when she heard Regina laughing behind her that she finally turned back and asked angrily.

"What the hell are you trying to do?"

"I'm making sure that you're going to die in here." She replied with a casual shrug.

"And how are you planning to do that, exactly?"

Emma hadn't given up just yet, and she was determined to keep on fighting until the very end. The adrenaline that was running through her veins at the thought that she was in danger was giving her the strengths she needed to act. She was so certain that she could knock the Evil Queen out, if she could find the right moment to do so. She wasn't sure that she was strong enough to magically transport herself back to her apartment, but she could try to melt the ice with her powers, or she could escape from the window and go get some help. She could still get out of there. Nothing was lost yet.

But something was off with this situation, and it was scaring her a little. Regina wasn't randomly acting like this, she knew exactly what she was doing. And the fact that she would try to lock her up in a room, only to kill her immediately after wasn't making any sense. The witch seemed to notice that Emma was slowly understanding her plan, because her smile widened and she finally explained what she had in mind.

"I want you to die slowly, and for your family to stand there and not be able to do anything to help you. I want you to feel like you're leaving this world and losing all your strengths. I want you to feel helpless, and to leave this place in pain."

"Are you planning on torturing me, is that it?" Emma provoked her, trying to see her reaction because she just couldn't grasp her plan just yet.

"Something like that, yes."

And without giving her the time to ask anything else, the Evil Queen suddenly spun on herself and projected her magic all around her, which went and hit the walls in big loud bangs. In an impulse, Emma crouched to protectively put her hands over her head, thinking that Regina was trying to kill her. But it soon became obvious that she wasn't aiming at her, and she just watched her enemy smile with her heart pounding in her chest. Slowly, she stood back up to look around her and make sure of what she was seeing because it felt surreal, but it soon became clear that she wasn't dreaming either.

Everything around her was suddenly frozen.

A terrible cold instantly filled the room, making her teeth clash in her mouth. She immediately wrapped her arms around herself to try and keep warm, her entire body shaking. Regina grinned at that, looking like she was finding her reaction really amusing. She raised her eyebrows and sneered.

"This won't be able to help you in a little while."

"What are you trying to do?" Emma asked, feeling more and more furious because she really had no idea of what was going on.

"Oh, you didn't get it yet? I thought that you were smarter than that,  _Savior_."

Emma took a deep breath to hold herself back from punching her right in the face, because she knew that it would only make the situation worse. And somehow, she was starting to understand, too. She just needed to hear her enemy's plan for good, so she could fight and try to find a solution to get herself out of there. She really needed to escape from this hell.

"Well this, my dear, is now a frozen room as you can very well feel it. And I've made it so you can't escape, even with your powers. See, breaking this ice wall would require very strong magic, magic that I'm not even sure I possess." She said, vaguely showing the frozen door. "And you're just only a beginner. In addition to the fact that you're sick and since the cold is only going to make you weaker, I'm quite certain that you can't break free, no matter how hard you try."

"Don't underestimate me. That's what got you last time." Emma threatened, trying to show the witch that she wasn't going to give up and that she hadn't won just yet.

"Oh, but you think you're so much better than you really are. I'm not even going to bother using a bracelet to stop your powers, like I did last time. You're so weak, and I want to watch you hope that you can use this magic you can't summon. Your family won't have a choice but to witness your death, because you can't get out of here and they won't be able to save you. I'll watch them suffer, and then I'll come for them too. And this will finally be the end of my pain."

Emma opened her mouth to keep on talking, trying to hide her fear because she was well aware that the Evil Queen wasn't completely wrong. She was definitely stronger than the witch thought she was, but she wasn't certain that she could use her powers given her current state. She was still determined not to let her win this, though. She despised her so much, and she wasn't going to give her this satisfaction. She wasn't going to stop fighting until she couldn't hurt anyone ever again.

But her enemy didn't give her the time to say anything. She smiled, a cruel one, and added. "I'm going to leave you to it. I'll come back in a few hours. You should be dead by then, and I'll be able to take care of your family, since they're going to be too desperate to fight me. Have fun for your last hours on this earth,  _Savior_. Hopefully, this is goodbye."

And without waiting for an answer, she disappeared in a puff of purple smoke.

Emma tried not to give herself the time to start panicking. Even if Regina seemed pretty sure of her plan, she refused to believe that she was going to die in there. This wasn't her time. She had an entire life ahead of her, she had a family, finally, and she wasn't going to give up that easily. She was going to get out of this damn room alive. She'd promised that she wasn't going to leave her loved ones, and she was going to honor her words.

She immediately rushed to the window she'd noticed earlier, to see if she could escape from there. She placed her hands against the curtains only to realize that it'd become one huge ice wall, just like the door. She tried to find a way to break it in order to open it and set herself free, but the surface was smooth and leaving her fingers on it was only making her feel colder. She shivered and tried to ignore the bite of the ice on her skin. She was okay. She was going to find another solution.

Turning away from the useless window, she walked to the door again, trying not to slip on the frozen floor. She didn't feel nauseous at all anymore, she didn't even feel tired or scared. All her energy was focused on trying to survive, and there was no place left for anything else. She had to go back to her family. She still had dozens of years to spend by their side. She wasn't going to lose this happiness she'd just found with all of them.

She tried to use the handle once again, but only managed to hurt her fingertips with the cold. She shook the door a little bit, trying to break it, but nothing at all happened. The ice was too thick, and it wasn't going to disappear that easily. Regina knew what she was doing, and she'd built a very solid wall. Not solid enough though, Emma was sure of it. She was going to break it one way or another.

She knelt on the ground then, starting to inspect every corner of the room to see if she couldn't find something to help her. But she couldn't reach the frozen wood of the floor beneath her, and she didn't manage to lift the mattress of the bed up as it'd become a block of ice. She couldn't even move the sheets to look underneath them, and she quickly gave up on this idea as well. So instead, she sat down, trying to stop herself from shaking so much, and she closed her eyes and ignored the cold in order to concentrate. There was always a solution. She just needed to find it.

She knew that she was probably too weak to use her magic, but she still had to try. Maybe the urgency of the situation would create a miracle, and she would manage to summon her powers and get out of there. She first tried to transport herself in her apartment, but this was very complex magic that she hadn't really learned about yet and she already knew deep down that she couldn't do it. She tried to imagine Killian's voice in her head telling her that he loved her, his blue eyes and his smile. He could help her to use these tools that she still didn't master completely, she was sure of it.

When it didn't work though, she tried to change her plan and she focused on breaking the ice wall instead. She just needed to melt a little part of it, so she could reach the handle and get the hell away from there. But nothing happened, once again. She was too cold, and was starting to get really scared. Her magic just wouldn't work, and she simply didn't know how to reach it.

And so she did the last thing she could think of as she was starting to panic. She got back on her feet, almost running to try and stay warm, and she started to bang against the cold door of her prison. Regina had said that her family wouldn't be able to do anything to help her, but she refused to believe that. Because the Evil Queen had also told her that they weren't far, and she knew that they could give her the support she needed to break free. With a bit of luck, they would hear her soon. And then they would find a way out together.

Hitting the door had the advantage of keeping the cold at bay, anyway. Her heart was pounding fast in her chest, and she knew that she had to keep on moving if she didn't want to freeze to death in there. It was her only chance to survive right now and she had to hold on, just for a bit longer.

"Killian! Henry! Mom! Dad!"

On that moment, panicked as she was, she didn't even realize that she'd just called her parents Mom and Dad again. It seemed natural given the urgency of the situation, and she just wanted them to be by her side right now. She didn't think about the fact that Killian wasn't at the castle either, as he'd gone to fetch the healer. He had no idea of what was happening, but she couldn't think clearly anymore.

She was feeling the cold slowly invading her, creeping along her skin and making her brain run more slowly. But she'd only been in there for a few minutes, and she knew damn well that she couldn't stay like that for much longer. So she placed all her energy in trying to contact her family, because it was the only thing left to do and she just couldn't think about the possibility of everything ending there.

All her efforts finally paid off after a while. As she was starting to get tired again, and as the cold was becoming more and more difficult to bear, she heard steps running in the hallway to stop just behind the door. She kept on banging until she heard her mother's voice, and she sighed in relief, hoping that this was it and that she woud finally be able to solve this situation.

"Emma? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, for now." She answered, getting her hands away from the door and starting to pace in order to keep warm, hugging herself to stop shivering so violently. "Regina's locked me up in here. She's frozen everything, she wants me to die of cold or something. I've tried everything, but I can't get out. You need to help me."

"Oh, gods." Snow gasped, and Emma could hear the hint of tears in her voice.

"We're going to find something." David tried to reassure all of them, even if he was obviously terrified as well. "Chiara's gone to search for Killian, too. He should be here in no time. You'll be out by then."

"Okay, good." Emma said, glad to hear that her husband was on his way. She felt like she could do anything when he was by her side, and she knew that he could give her the keys she was lacking to break free. "Maybe you should call Blue, too. She probably can get me out of here with her magic. I can't use mine, I'm too sick, and I'm only just a beginner. But she's good at what she does."

"We've already called for her, she must be on her way now." Snow informed her, her voice a bit broken by the fear. "She's going to help you. You just have to hang in there until then."

"I will." Emma promised, because she had no other choice anyway. "As I said, I'm fine for now."

"Mom?" She heard Henry whisper then, and he sounded so panicked that she went to place her hand on the door again, trying to be as close to him as she possibly could to reassure him.

"Hey, kiddo. Listen to me, I'm going to be just fine. I always am at the end of the day, right? I'll be back with you soon, don't you worry."

"Is it really cold in there?" He asked, as if hoping that he was overreacting and that the situation wasn't as bad as he thought it was.

"It's okay." She lied, because she really didn't want him to panic. "Regina isn't going to win that easily. And having you all here with me is already helping me a lot. Maybe I could try to use my magic again, okay? I'm sure that I can do this."

She was actually certain of the opposite, because she really wasn't feeling okay at all, but she just couldn't stay there and do nothing while she was slowly freezing to death. So she took a step back, because she had to fight and get back to her little boy. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably now, and talking was becoming difficult given the fact that her teeth were clashing so violently in her mouth. The cold air was burning her lungs, and she wasn't sure for how much longer she could stand this. She had to try again, though. For her family.

She closed her eyes and placed her palms a few inches from the door, to see if she could break the ice wall again. She knew that she couldn't die in there anyway, this wasn't even a possibility. She couldn't leave her son without a mother, and she couldn't leave Killian a widower. She was going to make it, as always. She just had to find the right way to do so.

She stayed like this for a very long time in silence, refusing to give up, but her powers seemed so far away and weak and she just couldn't reach them. She could vaguely hear her parents trying to open the door, but it had to be frozen from the other side too, because David cursed under his breath several times in despair. The time seemed to stop as they were all waiting for something to happen, but she had to admit that she just couldn't do it by herself. And she really hoped that Blue would arrive soon, because she was getting more exhausted with each passing second.

Henry started to talk again after what seemed like an eternity. The tip of her earlobes felt about to fall off, and she couldn't feel her fingers anymore. She so wished that she had a cloak with her, anything that could have protected her a little bit, just so she could hold on for a bit longer. But it was getting harder, and she really just wanted to lie down and sleep.

"Mom?"

"I'm trying, kid." She said in a small voice, because even talking felt like an impossible task, now.

"Thank gods, the guards are here." She heard her mother say then, and she felt a wave of hope arising in her again. "Emma, they're going to see if they can break the door. If they're unable to, we're going to wait for Blue and she'll try with her magic, alright?"

"Yeah." She simply answered, starting to pace in the room again because she really had to keep on moving or she was going to fall asleep.

She knew that she just couldn't do that, though. She was aware that if she fell asleep in this damn room, she would probably never wake up again. And she wasn't going to break her promise and leave her family. She was strong, that was for sure. She was a survivor too, and she wasn't going to die. She wouldn't let such a thing happen.

A huge blow on the door made her startle slightly. It was obvious that several people were trying to break the surface on the other side, using their combined strengths to get through the ice wall. But the door didn't even move one bit. Emma knew that they were doing everything they could, but they just couldn't break Regina's magic that easily. She should have guessed it in the first place. They had to try something else.

Steam was escaping her mouth as breathing was becoming more difficult, and she was feeling like her lips were slowly turning blue. She was shaking so much now that it was almost painful. She was trying to keep hope that they would find a solution together, but her thoughts seemed to be getting more and more foggy. She briefly wondered when Killian would finally get there, because she really just wanted to hear his voice. Everything seemed surreal now and even staying on her own two feet was becoming hard.

Snow started to talk again after a while, in a voice that seemed strangely far away. "The lock is frozen on this side, too. We're going to try and burn it to see what happens, okay?"

Emma was well aware that her family couldn't see her, but talking was asking for so much of her energy that she simply nodded at her mother's explanations. She was using every strength she had left in her entire being in order not to lie down on the frozen ground and just sleep. She couldn't even feel the fear anymore, and felt like her common sense was slowly leaving her. Her desire to fight was fading away as the cold was getting more difficult to bear. She was just so tired. Too tired to try. And sleep was so appealing, because it was easy.

Once again, her family's plan didn't seem to work because nothing at all changed. Emma's movements were getting slower, and she was fighting with everything she had left in order not to fall asleep all while still standing up. Her fingertips were blue now, and she watched them with a sort of strange detachment, as if she were looking at the scene from afar. She didn't know how much time she'd spent there already. She'd lost every notion of time and space. The only thing that existed anymore were this horrible cold and this feeling that she was going to close her eyes and never wake up again.

"Emma? Honey, can you hear us?" Snow asked, and Emma realized that her mother had been speaking for a while now, and that she was getting worried because she wasn't getting any answer back from her.

"Mom, please, answer us!" Henry pleaded, and it finally made her come back to reality for a little bit.

"I'm fine." She lied. "Breaking the door didn't work?"

"Blue should be here any minute, now." David said, not really answering her question because they all already knew that their plan had failed.

She could feel her family's panic in her bones, but it wasn't reaching her heart anymore. She felt like she was detached from her own body, because even the cold seemed far away now. She was just freezing, and she couldn't really think about anything else than that. And so she stopped fighting, because she couldn't see the dangers of this decision anymore. She lied down on the ground, curled up and closed her eyes. She was too exhausted to keep them open anyway.

"Emma! Please keep talking to us, we're going to get you out of there!" David cried out, making her blink slightly.

"I'm just so tired." She mumbled, her voice slow and low.

"Don't fall asleep! Just hang in there, sweetheart, we'll get you out soon, I promise!"

She was about to ignore his words and forget about everything around her again, in order to finally dive into this sleep that she desired so much. But all of the sudden, noises of agitation behind the door drew her attention, and she forced herself to listen to what was happening. She could hear muffled voices there, even if she couldn't really understand what they were saying. She was about to close her eyes again when someone started to bang against the door, making her startle a bit.

"Swan! Swan, don't you fall asleep! Just stay with us, love, please!"

She blinked a few times, recognizing her husband's voice immediately. She felt like it was finally giving her a bit of life back, even if it probably wasn't going to be enough. She really wanted to fight for them, but she wasn't sure that she could anymore. Everything felt numb, no fear, no pain. Just emptiness.

She could hear another voice behind the door, now, obviously belonging to a woman. She wasn't sure how, but she could tell that the Blue Fairy had finally arrived, too. She vaguely understood that she was going to use her magic to break the ice wall, but she wasn't even certain that she could hold on for another second. Deep down, she was so convinced that this new plan wasn't going to work either, and that she was going to die in there.

"Emma, bloody hell, answer me!" Killian pleaded, his voice completely broken in front of her silence and scared that he'd arrived too late.

"I'm here." She said in a small voice, because she just couldn't leave him like that, she had to comfort him despite how weak she was feeling.

"Gods, please stay awake! Just talk to me, alright? I'm right here, and we're going to break this door, I promise."

"I just want to sleep." She whimpered, too exhausted to even think about what she was saying.

"No, Swan!" He refused, sounding almost angry now. "Don't you dare fall asleep in there, do you hear me? It's going to be over soon, you just have to hang on for a little bit longer. You can do this. Next time you'll be allowed to sleep, it will be in my arms, understood?"

He kept on talking, but she was just too tired to listen to him anymore. His voice was rocking her to sleep too, and she just wished that she could have hugged him and her family at least one last time before going. But suddenly, he grew quiet again and it surprised her enough for her to pay attention to what was going on in the hallway. She could hear a conversation happening there, even if she couldn't tell what they were talking about. And then, all of the sudden, Killian cried out, his voice panicked and absolutely furious.

"What do you mean, you can't do anything? You're a fairy, use your bloody powers! We have to get her out of there, or she'll..."

He didn't finish his sentence and his voice broke completely. She could hear someone sobbing in the background as they were all realizing that their last plan had failed, and that they'd tried everything they could to save her. She heard Snow begging Blue to do something else, as she was refusing to believe that they couldn't do anything to help her. None of them could accept this possibility, and yet waiting for it to be over was the only obvious thing left to do.

Killian absolutely refused the idea of losing his wife, though. Seconds after Blue's revelation, he started to hit the door with his hook, trying to get all the ice out of the lock and get to her. He was crying in silence too, she could hear it at his breathing, but she just couldn't say anything to comfort him anymore. She then allowed herself to close her eyes again and started to dive back into unconsciousness when her son's voice brought her back to reality.

"Mom! Please, Mom, answer us!" He sobbed, and it made her want to cry with him. "Please, don't fall asleep, you can fight this. I… I need you here with us."

"Swan." Killian added, stopping his blows on the door for a second and she could hear how broken his voice was because of the tears. "Emma, please listen to the lad. He's right, you're strong, you can survive this. Just hang in there, alright? I won't let you die, I promise."

"I love you so much. All of you." She stated in a raspy voice, aware that it was probably the last thing she was going to tell them, and wanting these to be her last words.

"Don't you dare talk like you're going to disappear!" Killian cried out, hitting the door in anger. "You hear me, Swan? You promised me this morning that you were going to be okay. You promised that I wasn't going to lose you. You can't break this promise, Emma! You have to keep fighting!"

She blinked a couple of times, trying to start thinking again. Because he was right. She'd promised that she was going to be alright, she could remember her own words that same morning as the moment seemed so far away. She couldn't leave them, she couldn't give up that easily. She had to fight, for him, for Henry, for the future they had as a family. She just couldn't die that day, it was way too soon.

She still hadn't answered though, and he started to talk again, much more softly this time and silently crying because he probably thought that it was too late already and that she'd fallen asleep. "Please, my love. I need you, we all do. I can't lose you today. We have so much to live together, I can't… Oh gods, Emma. I love you. I love you so much."

His last words and the distress of her son managed to finally give her life again. She used all the energy she had left and it felt almost impossible to accomplish, but she ended up kneeling back on the ground, her head spinning so violently she felt like she was going to pass out. She closed her eyes for a second to try and keep her balance, then she said in such a low voice she wasn't sure her family could hear her.

"Step away from the door."

She took a deep breath and tried to focus, even if everything seemed a bit blurry around her. She couldn't feel her hands anymore, but she just chose to ignore it and fight to reach this magic that she needed so badly. She was the only one who could save herself, and she was going to do it, she knew that she was strong enough. She just had to believe in herself.

Soon, slowly but surely, a small but comforting heat coming from inside her started to warm up her frozen limbs. The tiny sun that she'd become so familiar with lit up in the pit of her stomach, and she felt like everything wasn't lost just yet.

The sun was still way too weak, though. She needed to get some strength back, and she replayed Henry and Killian's voices in her head, to motivate herself and fight harder.  _I can't lose you_. They weren't going to, she wasn't going to let such a thing happen. She was going to keep her promise, and she wasn't going to leave them.

The tiny sun suddenly grew and became so strong she felt like she could do anything. In a matter of seconds, it exploded, creating a brief but comforting warmth in her entire body. It'd never been so powerful before, and she was herself surprised by what had just happened. She heard gasps coming from behind the door, and she opened her eyes again, blinking a few times to make sure that she was seeing correctly. There was now a hole in the wooden surface. It was narrow, but it was definitely big enough to allow her to get through it.

She'd done it. She was going to be okay.

She let go of a sigh of pure relief, and did her best to gather her last strengths and walk to the door. She was so exhausted she felt like she was floating above the ground, but she saw someone leaning to reach through the hole and help her out. She needed another second to realize that this person was Killian, and she took his hand, falling on her knees again because she was just too cold to stay on her feet. His cheeks were wet with tears, and with David's help, they easily got her back in the hallway. Out of danger. Finally.

The comforting warmth outside made her feel like she was living again. She was still shivering and shaking so violently it was hurting her a little. She was immediately dragged into an intense collective embrace, as everyone wanted to make sure that they weren't dreaming and that she really was okay. She couldn't really see her loved ones, but she knew that they were all there and she could feel them cry against her. So she hugged them back, too tired to sob with them, their arms keeping her warm and up as they were all realizing that they'd avoided the worst once again.

Their embrace lasted for a very long time, then she recognized Killian's familiar touch beside her and she reached to wrap her arms around his shoulders. She buried her face in the crook of his neck, running her fingers through his hair as he was breathing fast against her. He held her so tight he almost lifted her up from the ground, and it was a good thing because she wasn't sure that she could have stayed on her feet. Feeling him so close was more comforting than anything too, and she just let him hold her and make sure that she really was alright.

"Are you okay?"

She simply nodded at that, too weak to talk and finally realizing that she'd almost died in there, now that her brain was starting to work normally again. She was holding Killian so tightly she was scared of hurting him for a brief moment, but he didn't seem to mind at all and she just stayed still and enjoyed the quiet moment. Everything still seemed blurry around her, and his arms felt like the only real things in the world, as they didn't need words to tell each other how relieved they both were that they were back together again.

David started to talk in her back then, his voice broken by his own tears. "We're going to get you back to the apartment, alright? Blue has gone to look for the other fairies and see if they couldn't help, but she'll be back soon. She's going to make sure that you're okay."

Killian stayed silent for another few seconds, then he whispered in her neck "Thank you. Thank you for fighting for us."

"I just couldn't leave any of you." She said very weakly, because that was the reason why she hadn't surrendered.

He sighed at her words and moved to place her back down on the floor all while still holding her, but her legs finally gave up after everything that she'd been through. His arms were still tightly wrapped around her, so he caught her way before she hit the ground, and immediately placed his hook in her back and his hand underneath her knees to be able to carry her. She didn't protest, because she wasn't sure that she could have walked at all. Instead, she held onto his neck and closed her eyes, still shaking but feeling like the heat around her was slowly reaching her at last.

Everything that happened after that was a bit of a blur. In a few short minutes and without her really understanding how she'd got there, she was curled up on her sofa, in front of the fireplace. The warmth of the room made her sigh, and Killian wrapped her in several blankets and rubbed her back for a while to try and make her feel better. He settled next to her, and she immediately moved to come sit on his lap. Feeling him close was working better than any fire could ever have, and she stayed like that in silence, her face in his neck and his arms giving her exactly what she needed to get better.

As she realized that she really was safe, for now at least, her heart started to beat normally again. She felt like she was slowly coming back to life, and she couldn't believe that she'd really survived this, because this had definitely been a close one. She only noted then that Killian was actually crying against her, holding onto her for dear life as if he were scared that she was going to disappear again. She moved to kiss his hair and soothe him too, showing him that she really was okay, even if it felt surreal.

At the same time, she finally noticed her son's presence by her side. Everything had been too foggy before for her to realize who was next to her, but now that she could look at him without the entire room spinning around her, she could see that he was sobbing too. She moved again, gently taking his hand and kissing his forehead to comfort him. She just didn't want her little boy to be sad, and seeing him like that because of her was breaking her heart.

"I'm okay, kiddo." She promised, offering him a reassuring smile now that she could finally talk normally again. "Thanks to you. I'm not going anywhere. You don't have to be scared anymore, alright?"

"I was so afraid of losing you." He panted a little bit, and he came to wrap his arms around her and hold her close too, to make sure that she really was safe.

"I know, Henry, I really do." She answered, biting her bottom lip to try and stop herself from starting to cry with him. "I'm so sorry for worrying you. But I'm fine, see? I fought for you. Because I love you so, so much."

"I love you too, Mom." He sighed against her, and she rubbed his back to try and ease his fears.

"I'm sorry." Killian suddenly started to talk, and they both looked at him in surprise because of his statement. "I'm sorry that I haven't been able to protect you like I should have."

"Oh, babe." She said, leaning to press a little kiss to his cheek and comfort him. "Don't apologize, nothing that's happened was your fault. You've been there for me when I needed it the most. You've helped me and I'm out of this room thanks to you and Henry. You have nothing to feel sorry for."

He nodded and they stayed silent for a little while, as she was holding both her boys close to her. She knew how terrified they'd been, because she'd really been so close to dying this time. And she just wanted to show them that she was there, and that she wasn't planning on going anywhere. After surviving this, she was pretty sure that she could do anything. And she wouldn't let Regina take her away from those she loved.

Killian continued after another few minutes, gently stroking her back in a comforting gesture. "Gods, you're so cold."

"I'm okay." She promised. "I'll be fine. Everything is going to be alright, now."

"I love you, Emma." He repeated then, as if to make sure that she hadn't forgotten. "I've been so afraid of losing you."

"I meant it when I said that you would have to bear with me for a long time." She replied, trying to make him smile, but a tear ran down his face and she added. "Sweetie, please don't cry. I'm here. I'm sorry for scaring you."

"I didn't even reach the healer's house." He admitted, looking almost guilty about it. "You've had to fight all by yourself. I'm the one who's sorry."

"You were there, Killian. I got out of this room thanks to you. And that's okay if you didn't find the healer. I'll be okay either way, I swear."

He just held her closer and didn't say anything else, and they stayed like this for a very long time, the three of them wrapped up in this tight embrace to try and comfort each other. Snow and David ended up coming back with the Blue Fairy so she could make sure that Emma really was out of danger, but she was already feeling so much better now, and she was sure that she was just fine. She was realizing that she'd probably been closer to death than ever before, that day. But she'd found the strength to fight for those she loved. She'd saved herself, and she could do it all over again. She wasn't scared anymore.

Henry refused to leave the apartment for a few minutes while Blue was making sure that Emma was alright. They wanted him to be out of the room in case their friend would tell them that something was wrong, but he insisted to at least stay in his bedroom, because he really didn't want to be separated from his parents after what had just happened.

Emma and Killian could understand his feelings easily, and they didn't try to argue with him. They agreed with his idea, and her parents left their apartment as Killian was carrying her to their bed to gently lay her down on it. She was almost sure that she could have done it by herself, but she knew that taking care of her was comforting him, and feeling him close was soothing her as well. He immediately came to settle next to her and took her hand in his, obviously not wanting to let her out of his sight, even for a split second.

Everything was so calm in the room after what she'd just been through, it felt almost surreal. Blue used her wand to look at her for a bit, but she seemed pretty satisfied with what she was finding, because she smiled at them and Emma felt Killian relaxing against her. A bit absently, the fairy asked, looking relieved that this situation had found a happy ending after all.

"You've scared us for a second there. Are you still feeling tired? Your parents told me that you were still sick."

"Yeah." She shrugged, feeling absolutely exhausted and looking into Killian's eyes, as his weren't leaving her face. "We were about to go ask for a healer's opinion when everything happened."

"This is really strange that I can't find anything wrong with you." Blue frowned, looking a bit puzzled. She seemed to think for a second, then her expression changed completely and she murmured, as if talking to herself. "Unless..."

All of the sudden and without giving any more explanation, she placed her wand just above Emma's stomach, obviously wanting to make sure of something. It made her raise her eyebrows in surprise, but she didn't ask to know more as nothing happened for the first few instants. She just looked at Blue's face, wondering what the hell was going through her mind to act so strangely. And out of nowhere, her friend's eyes widened almost in shock as a strange and unexpected sound was starting to ring across the room.

Emma startled, surprised. She was confused for a bit, but she ended up relaxing when she realized that what she was hearing was simply her heartbeats, strong and fast. She couldn't understand why Blue seemed so taken aback by this, but all her attention was suddenly on Killian, as he seemed more than worried by this new event.

"What is this? Is Emma okay?"

"Calm down, babe." She tried to reassure him, looking up at him again. "I'm fine, it's just my heartbeats."

"No… No, Emma. These aren't yours." Blue said in a low voice.

Her stomach tightened and she felt like she was going to be sick again, because she just couldn't understand what was going on. She couldn't even tell if it was bad or not, because she didn't know where this sound was coming from, if it wasn't her heart that she was listening to. She felt Killian stiffening beside her and she asked, stuttering a bit and suddenly very anxious.

"What… What do you mean by that?"

"I think that I just found the reason why you're sick. Gods, I can't believe that I haven't thought about this sooner. I've looked for poison and for the traces of a curse, but not for this. And now..."

"And now what?" Killian insisted as the fairy had stopped talking. "What's happening to her?"

"Emma, you..."

Blue moved to be able to look at her more easily and, against all odds, a smile suddenly appeared on her face. She still seemed surprised, but she was obviously happy, and it was so unexpected that Emma actually startled again. She felt so nervous she didn't know what to do with herself anymore. And she watched her friend taking a deep breath and finally finishing her sentence, as if she were living a stranger's life.

"You're pregnant."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So most of you had already guessed that Emma was pregnant, and I'm so excited for this new storyline! I was also inspired by the episode during which Emma is stuck with Elsa inside the ice wall, because it's one of my favorite episodes of the show. I hope you liked this chapter, and I can't wait to go on this new adventure with these characters!


	34. Chapter 34

"Excuse me?" Was the first thing Emma managed to say after a few seconds of heavy silence, because she just couldn't believe that she'd heard her friend correctly.

She was holding onto Killian's hand so tightly that she got scared she was actually going to hurt him for an instant, but he didn't seem to care. He was looking at the fairy with wide eyes, and seemed at a complete loss for words, as if he were wondering if he wasn't dreaming as well.

The Blue Fairy insisted patiently, her wand still above Emma's stomach. "Here, listen. These are your baby's heartbeats."

The sound was there, clear and fast but also strong and obviously healthy. It was ringing so loudly against the walls of the bedroom that for an insane second, Emma thought that she could hear two hearts there. Everything seemed distorted to her ears and she forced herself to shake her head and come back to reality. This wasn't possible, her friend had to be wrong. These could totally be her heartbeats, right? She wasn't pregnant. She wasn't going to have a baby. She would have known it before if it'd been the case.

Killian let go of a deep sigh beside her, as if he'd been holding his breath until then. Everything was blurry and her heart was pounding so fast she felt like it was going to bust out of her chest. Yet, the sound coming from inside her didn't change one bit, still as regular and powerful. She turned her head to look at her husband and see what he was thinking about all of this. She met his blue eyes, shining with unshed tears, then he looked down again to stare at her stomach in disbelief.

He seemed to believe Blue's revelation. It was so logical after all, but Emma wanted to convince herself that this was a mistake. Her symptoms were pretty obvious, though. This feeling deep inside of her that something was different about her, these sicknesses and this endless exhaustion, all of this could only mean one thing. And given how often she was having sex with her husband, this possibility was far from being completely insane. Everything made so much sense. And yet she just couldn't accept it.

The truth was that even thinking about this was terrifying her, so she wanted to hide these feelings deep inside of her and never have to deal with them again. She just couldn't have a baby, not now. This wasn't planned. She loved Killian, she adored her son, but they had never talked about having another child. She'd always known deep down that this could happen someday, but the timing was awful. She just wasn't ready.

She couldn't bring a little baby into the world with everything that was going on right now. She didn't want it to be in danger, while Regina was threatening her entire family. She was barely just getting used to this new life at the castle, and they'd just gotten married. She needed more time. This couldn't be happening.

And yet, the thing that was scaring her the most right now was the fact that with these news, she could feel the old scars of her broken childhood coming right back to life. The last time she'd been pregnant, she was just a kid herself, all alone in the back of a cold cell because the man she'd chosen to trust had abandoned her. Things couldn't have been more different now, because she had an entire family by her side and a husband who adored her and would support her through anything, but painful memories were taking over her and she just didn't know what to do with herself anymore.

And so she chose to believe that the Blue Fairy was wrong. She hadn't been able to find what was the matter with her before, and she could totally be making a mistake again. The room was quiet aside from these heartbeats still ringing to her ears, and her friend seemed to be patiently waiting for their reaction. Emma blinked a few times and said, finally breaking the silence.

"This isn't possible. You must be wrong. If I really was pregnant, you would have heard the heartbeats way sooner."

"Actually, I wouldn't have." The fairy answered, a little smile on her face. She seemed ecstatic but she was also obviously realizing that this was hard for her to accept, and she continued gently. "I wasn't looking for a pregnancy, so I didn't think about checking for heartbeats. The baby was too small before for me to hear them properly, anyway. You've been sick for a while now, so you must be a few weeks into the pregnancy already. Hence why we can listen to your child's heart so easily."

"No". Emma insisted, because she really just couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I'm not pregnant. I would have felt it. I know what it's like."

"Emma, that's the only thing that could explain your symptoms." She said kindly, so she wasn't able to deny what was happening anymore.

She felt like she couldn't breathe all of the sudden, because it was getting harder and harder to refuse this possibility. What Blue was saying made so much sense, and her exhaustion had after all started not long after they'd come back from their honeymoon. Honeymoon during which they could have conceived a baby plenty of times. Her friend seemed to be so sure of herself, and Emma's last certitudes were crumbling before her eyes.

Because this was becoming obvious that the fairy was right. She was expecting a baby. Unconsciously, because she hadn't wanted to even think about that before, she'd actually been feeling it for a long time. She was pregnant. And without thinking, she placed her hand on her still flat stomach as if she wanted to protect the little being that was living there. This was her new reality, and she couldn't keep on denying it. This baby deserved more than that.

"Wait." Killian then said, talking for the first time since they'd received the news and, despite his obvious surprise, a small smile now dancing on his lips. "You mean that for all this time, while we thought that she was sick… Emma was actually with child? This is what's truly going on?"

He seemed genuinely happy, even if he looked like he wanted to make sure of the reality of the situation before getting excited. Still, Emma's heart suddenly tightened in fear. She knew that he wouldn't get scared and that he wouldn't leave her, never. She knew that he was going to keep all of his promises and that he was sincerely thrilled, because he loved Henry so much and a new baby joining the family was only going to bring more happiness. But she was so afraid, because she had no idea of how they were going to deal with this, given how her first pregnancy had gone. He was nothing like Neal though, and she was well aware of that. By his side, she was pretty sure that she could do anything.

"Yes." Blue nodded. "It was all about that. The good news is that we know where these sicknesses are coming from now, and we know that you're going to be okay eventually. I know of some tea that helps to calm nausea, your mother used to drink it when she was pregnant with you. I'm going to write the recipe down for you. It works miracles."

She grabbed a quill and a piece of parchment on their night table, briefly looking away from them to list the ingredients they needed. Emma took advantage of this moment to turn to Killian, because he was the only thing that felt real on that crazy moment. He was still staring at her, looking like he was about to start crying from pure happiness. She felt tears appearing in her own eyes, but she didn't know what she was feeling exactly. A lot of fear, for sure. Surprise, too. But also, deep down, a profound and endless joy.

Seeing her distress, Killian's expression changed completely. He leaned to press a little kiss on her forehead, and went to place his hook beside her hand on her stomach. He didn't say anything, but she understood what he meant by this sweet gesture. He knew all about her fears, and he was silently promising her to always stay by her side, no matter what. She closed her eyes and felt a single tear rolling down the side of her face. She didn't know how to feel, but she was sure of one thing. They would always stay together, and they would find happiness. This baby was just another proof of that.

"Here you go." Blue said, looking up to give the parchment to Killian, and he kept his hook on her belly all while reading the list on the piece of paper. "This is a blessing, believe me. And if you have any questions, I'm here. I've never been with child myself, but I've helped Snow a lot during her pregnancy, so I know quite a bit about this."

"I know what to expect, I've been pregnant before." Emma managed to say in a muffled voice. "Just… Please don't tell anyone, alright? Our family should hear it from us."

"Of course." The fairy nodded immediately. "I wasn't planning on saying anything, you have my word."

"Thank you." Killian simply said, and their friend smiled gently at them.

"I'm going to leave you two alone for a while, I'm sure that you wish to talk about all of this. And… Congratulations for the newest member of your family."

And then, just like that, she was gone. Left alone, Killian and Emma kept quiet for the first few minutes. They were both slowly realizing that this was actually real, and they didn't know what to say. They were having a baby together. She was pregnant, and they were going to bring a little being into the world. They were going to raise and love it with all their hearts and souls, like they'd done and were still doing with Henry. And they were going to be really happy.

She was still scared though, because she didn't know if she was going to be able to protect this little one. It was going to need them and she never wanted anything to happen to this tiny human that she was carrying inside of her. But this world was so full of dangers, she was afraid that she wouldn't find a way to shelter it from them. She'd barely made it out alive that day, and it wasn't even born yet. How was she going to make sure that it stayed safe? How could she defeat Regina now that she had to be careful not to get hurt, because she wasn't the only one facing the consequences of her actions anymore. She was already so worried about Henry suffering from this war, she had no idea of how to protect a second child from this mess.

But even after all of this, even though she was surprised and terrified, she finally realized that she was also happy. So deeply and utterly that her heart felt fit to burst. This hadn't been planned, this was going to be so complicated, and yet she couldn't help but feel so complete. Because she already loved this little being so much, even if she'd only learned about its existence a few minutes earlier.

Her feelings were so powerful and conflicting that she felt like she was drowning a little bit in them. Killian opened his mouth to say something and she really wanted to know his thoughts about this situation, but all of the sudden, she felt a wave of nausea taking over her again. The last events, the thought that she'd almost died, the cold and learning that she was pregnant out of the blue, all of this was creating a huge amount of stress that wasn't doing wonders to her already fragile stomach. She winced and barely had the time to jump out of bed, pulling away from Killian to warn him.

"I'm gonna be sick."

He followed her into the bathroom, as always gently soothing her as he was holding her hair back and promising her that she was going to be okay. This time was different, though. They both knew why this was happening now, and Killian didn't seem as scared anymore. They were going to have a baby. And she didn't know if she should have laughed in happiness, cried from terror or run away from her own feelings.

She threw up for a while, then Killian helped her to sit back down against a wall so she could catch her breath. She rested her head against the cold surface, her eyes staring at the ceiling and just trying to keep on breathing. Without really realizing what she was doing, she placed her hand against her stomach again, as if to comfort the baby. Killian gently ran his hand through her hair and murmured :

"Come on, darling, let's get you back to bed. Do you want me to make you the tea Blue told us about? I'm sure it'll help you feel much better."

He was so calm and comforting, she felt her anxiety slowly fading away. He was obviously worried to see her being sick, but he seemed confident about their future and it made her want to feel like that, too. He looked so happy now and it was so reassuring. They were going to do this together. They were going to protect and love this child, and nothing was going to happen to it. Hand in hand, as always, they would be the best parents they could be. It hadn't been planned, but it was a happy surprise. She could read it in his eyes.

He stayed right beside her as she was cleaning up, as if he were scared that she was going to collapse. She'd been through a lot in a few hours after all, but she didn't even feel tired anymore. She was still too surprised for that, and she really wanted to know her husband's true feelings about these news, even if she could already tell that he was thrilled by the way he was looking at her. He guided her back to their bed and kissed her forehead, promising her that he was going to be right back, and he disappeared through the door to go to the kitchen.

Emma absently placed her fingers where his lips had been seconds earlier, leaving the other hand protectively resting over her stomach. It was insane to think that a little human was growing in there, and that she hadn't known about it until now. But this was nothing like her first pregnancy, and she had to remember that everything was going to be okay. She was surrounded now, she was in a castle and not in a cold, lonely cell. She wasn't a kid anymore either. She had a wonderful man that she adored to raise this baby by her side, and this child was going to be so loved. She didn't need to be scared anymore. She had to remind herself that she would never be alone again.

Still, she was emotionally exhausted and she felt like crying, even if some of the feelings that were arising in her were positive ones. Killian came back a few minutes later, what stopped her from panicking completely. She sat up and accepted the cup he was handing her, breathing in the sweet smell that was escaping from it. It looked delicious, and maybe she could at least finally get rid of this nausea that was torturing her for days.

She took a sip of the beverage, carefully testing the taste and worried that she was going to get sick again. The feeling of the sugar on her tongue was pleasant and comforting, and she drank it all in barely a few seconds. Strangely enough, she realized that her stomach was already feeling better. She sighed in relief and placed the cup back on her night table. That was one last thing to worry about.

She turned back to her husband as he was still looking at her, a little frown on his face. He was very obviously concerned about her well-being, but this spark of happiness still hadn't left his gaze and she managed to offer him a small smile at that. He returned it, and his entire face lit up, reassuring her once again on his true feelings. She knew that they were about to share a very emotional conversation as they would have to talk about all of this, so she started a bit shyly.

"Blue was right. This tea works miracles."

"Truly?" He asked, looking deeply relieved by her statement. "Are you feeling better?"

"Much better already, yeah." She nodded, avoiding the real discussion for a few more seconds. "I'm sure it's going to be of great help."

"I'm glad, love. You can finally start eating again, now. You need to get some strengths back given...Given your state." He stuttered.

"My state?" She repeated because of his hesitation.

"We're going to have a baby."

He'd said his last sentence in a whisper, as if he were still doubting the reality of the situation somehow. Hearing him say those words out loud made things so real all of the sudden, and she felt her heart starting to hammer against her ribs again. She wanted to answer something, to ask him how he was feeling and for them to talk about their future. She wanted them to have a real conversation and to be happy about the fact that they were going to be parents again.

But everything felt like too much. All her doubts and fears, mixed up with pure happiness and joy, suddenly made her feel like she was going to implode. She was going to raise another child with the man she loved. But she was so, so scared of what was going to happen now, because she just wanted to keep their baby safe and she wasn't sure that she could do that. So she looked down at the sheets as she was feeling like she was going to start crying, and a little sob shook her shoulders before she could do anything to stop herself.

She immediately found herself in his arms, snuggled against him for comfort. He held her tight and she buried her face in the crook of his neck, quietly crying as he was soothing her by dropping little kisses to her cheek and hair. He didn't say anything for a while, waiting for her to have calmed down. His presence was everything that she needed and she already felt her tears fading away after a few minutes spent in that position. And then he started to talk again, in such a comforting voice that she felt all her fears leaving her at once.

"Emma, my love, I know that you're afraid. I know it's hard, because of how things were the last time you were pregnant. But you won't ever have to face this alone, I won't let such a thing happen. I will always, always be by your side, for as long as you wish me to, and I truly hope that this is forever. And this child, it's going to be so loved. Bloody hell, lass, I already love it so much. Everything is going to be alright, and this baby is so lucky to have you, because you're the best mother it could ever have wished for. And we'll raise it together, and it'll be healthy and safe. No one will never let you down again, not on my watch. And I promise you, my darling, I promise that we're going to be happy."

She felt another tear rolling down her cheek, but it wasn't from terror this time as his beautiful words were touching her soul. He knew exactly what she needed to hear, and she rested her head on his shoulder as he was still gently rocking her. He moved then, pressing his lips on her temple, and his hand came to meet her stomach as there was still no visible sign of the little being living there. He looked down to stare at her belly and smiled as he was seeing that she was finally feeling better.

"We're going to have a baby." He repeated a second time, as if to make it real for good.

"We are." She agreed, sniffing discreetly and comforted by his joy. She still wanted to make sure that she wasn't wrong about the way he was feeling though, so she asked. "Are you happy?"

"Swan." He answered so softly her heart seemed to grow in her chest. "Of course I'm happy. My beautiful, perfect wife is carrying the product of our love. Why wouldn't I be?"

She offered him a shy smile at that and felt all her fears disappearing to be replaced by pure joy, as his behavior was soothing her beyond words. She took a deep breath and placed her hand above his on her stomach, as if to show their baby that they both already loved it so much. And finally reassured, she said in a low voice.

"I don't even know why I'm crying. It came as a surprise but… I'm happy. I'm so happy to have a baby with you. I'm just scared, because the news brought back bad memories of the last time I learned I was pregnant. And mostly, I'm worried because I don't know how we're going to be able to protect this child. Regina is trying to kill me, and I just want it to come in a safe and happy world. Not in this mess, while it can get hurt."

"We'll protect the little one." He swore then, with so much conviction that she actually believed him. "Whatever it takes. We'll defeat Regina, for Henry and for this baby, so our children can grow into a peaceful world. I know this wasn't planned, love. I know that we've never talked about having another child. But… I'm happy. Gods, Emma, I'm so happy."

"I love you." She simply answered, because she absolutely adored this man and she just wanted him to know it.

"I love you, too, my beautiful darling. And I already love the wee one so much."

He approached her for a gentle kiss, and she felt the taste of salt on his lips. She knew that he was crying from happiness this time though, so she brought him closer and smiled, all fear forgotten as she was in his arms. They only pulled away after a long while, and she could see that big tears were still streaming down his cheeks. It worried her a little bit, even if she knew that he was just so ecstatic he didn't really know what to do anymore. She gently cupped his face to look into his eyes and asked softly.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, love. More than that, actually." He chuckled. "I'm just… I can't believe that this is happening. And I adore you. Always and forever"

She chose not to answer with words, and simply leaned to kiss him again. Their embrace was tender and sweet, as if he were scared to hurt her now that he knew she was carrying a tiny baby.  _Their_  baby. They soon found themselves lying down on their pillows, her hand in his hair and his still spread protectively over her stomach. He suddenly broke the kiss to move, and he pressed his lips on her belly, just above her clothes. She laughed and she was so happy that on that moment, she couldn't even remember why she'd been scared in the first place.

They didn't get any further than kissing that time. She just felt all her doubts fading away as he was holding her, and she realized that he was right. No matter what, they were going to protect Henry and this baby. This child was a surprise, but they loved each other and they were going to love it too. Her joy felt stronger than anything else in the world, and she couldn't erase the smile from her face. She was pregnant. She was happy. And everything was going to be alright from now on.

And when they stopped kissing, they just stayed still for a while, lying down beside each other. She let him place his head on her shoulder, so he was able to look at her stomach and keep his hand over it. It was as if he were trying to tell the little bean in there that he already loved it so much, and that it was safe. He whispered how much he loved her again and again, and after a while, there was nothing left in the room but this profound and pure bliss that was uniting their little family.

* * *

"We should tell Henry first." Emma said after a long time spent in silence.

They'd just kept quiet and still, as the moment didn't need words to tell how happy they were. They'd needed these few instants during which they were the only ones in the world to know about this little baby's existence. They'd wanted to fully grasp the fact that another member of the family was going to join them soon, and to taste this wonderful happiness together. But it was time to share these news, now. And their son was the first one who had to know. He was going to be a big brother after all, and Emma could already tell that he was going to be the best role model this little bean could ever have wished for.

Still, even though she knew deep down that he was going to be thrilled because their little boy was such a sweet kid, she was a bit worried about his possible reaction. They'd never talked about having another baby, and he'd always been the only child to receive their attention. She was scared that he would be concerned about them pushing him away a little bit to take care of this new little one, because this would never happen and she wanted him to be sure of that. He would always stay her baby boy. Her love for him would never waver, and this new child was only going to bring more joy into the family. Her son would never be alone like she had once been.

Killian immediately agreed with that, but he didn't move right away. His head was still resting on her shoulder, and he was drawing little circles on the skin of her stomach, making her sigh in pure bliss. He finally lifted his head up to drop a little kiss to her collarbone, and he left her belly to come take her hand in a sweet gesture. They looked at each other for a while, just smiling in silence, then they stood back up to go to their son's room and tell him all about what was going on.

Henry was there, peacefully sitting on his bed. He was reading, but he was also very obviously waiting to know what the Blue Fairy had told them, wanting to make sure that his mom really was okay. He immediately looked up from the pages of his book when they entered his room after knocking on the door, and he came to approach them with a little smile. He looked reassured now, all traces of his previous distress gone, but he still seemed happy to have his parents back by his side. He immediately started to talk, saying cheerfully.

"Blue came to tell me that I shouldn't worry and that you were fine, Mom, but that you also needed rest. I'm so happy that you're okay. How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling fine, kid." Emma said, not really knowing how to introduce the topic of this unexpected pregnancy.

"Good. Blue had the biggest smile on her face when she came, so I figured that you really were alright. She also told me not to be scared, because we're safe from Regina for now. Guards are watching our apartment door to make sure that no one can come in, and even if she tries to enter, she'll be outnumbered and locked up in the dungeon immediately. So that's a good thing. Now, did Blue finally find the reason why you're so sick?"

She opened her mouth, not really knowing how to tell him what was going on and thinking that beating around the bush was useless. Her little boy was smart, and he already seemed to know that something was going on. But this was a big moment, and she was scared of not doing this right. She'd learned about this little bean growing inside of her less than an hour earlier, and she was still getting used to this idea. So she was wondering how her son was going to react to that, and she just hoped that she wasn't wrong and that he was going to be happy.

Henry looked at her strangely, as if he knew that she was struggling to tell him what was truly happening. He didn't push her though, but he turned to his father, silently asking him what was wrong as his mom was suddenly speechless. Killian decided to help then, and he gestured for Henry to come sit on his bed with them. Gently, still holding Emma's hand, he said.

"Come, lad. We're going to tell you everything."

As Killian was gently wrapping his arm around her waist to hold her close, Emma suddenly had a vision of how things were going to be for the next few months. Her husband, who had always been so thoughtful with her, was surely going to pamper her like never before. He was already so protective of this baby that he'd just learned about, and she was certain that he was going to take care of them and make sure that she was okay, so their child would be perfectly healthy when it would decide to join them.

She was also well aware that this was going to be difficult to stay safe, with Regina threatening to kill them all. But she knew that she was going to do anything for their little one to be okay. And even if she could tell that her husband's worry was most certainly going to make her roll her eyes a few times, she could also understand his feelings. He loved her and he loved Henry and their unborn child. He just wanted them all to be alright. And with a smile, she snuggled against him a little bit more as their son was looking at them with a small grin of his own.

"You guys look weird. Happy, but weird. What's going on?"

"We have something quite important to tell you." Killian admitted kindly, as if he were a bit concerned about their little boy's possible reaction as well.

"Oh?" Henry asked, looking truly surprised by this. "Should I be worried?"

"No, lad." Killian chuckled slightly. "These are good news. Surprising, but really good. That I can promise you."

Henry didn't say anything, but it was obvious that he was dying to know more. Killian stopped then, and he held her a little bit closer as his hand was coming to rest on her stomach again, as if he just didn't want to be away from their child, even for a second. Their son raised his eyebrows at the sweet gesture, and she took a deep breath to continue, even though she had no idea of what was the best way to announce such a huge thing.

"Blue told us something… pretty unexpected in the room." She then confessed, smiling softly at her son. "And we wanted you to be the first to know."

"Where are you guys going with this?" He encouraged her, looking a bit impatient now but still obviously amused by her behavior.

"Well, it's… Okay, listen kiddo." She changed her mind at the last second. "Before I tell you anything, I want you to know something really important. Nothing will ever be able to break this bond that we share, you, me and your dad. We're so proud of you and we love you so very much, and even years from now, you'll still be our little boy. This will never, ever change, alright?"

"Mom, I have no idea what you're talking about." Henry laughed out loud, shaking his head at her words. "What's happening, and why are you being so weird?"

She sighed and decided to leave the comfort of Killian's embrace to come kneel in front of Henry and take both his hands in hers. She wanted to be as close to him as possible, so he wouldn't start worrying about their future, because it was going to be bright and full of laughter, she could tell. He seemed more and more intrigued, but he didn't ask her anything. She knew that she couldn't keep on delaying things any longer though, and she took a deep breath, saying with a little smile.

"You're gonna be a big brother, Henry."

He stared at her in silence for a minute, frowning as if he were wondering if he'd heard correctly. She was concerned by this lack of reaction and wondered what could be going through his mind, but his face finally lit up completely and she felt like she could breathe again. He looked down at her stomach as if he wanted to see the still invisible proof of her statement, and he stuttered, to make sure that he'd understood what she was trying to say.

"Wait, do you mean that you…"

He didn't finish his sentence, so she nodded and answered. "I'm pregnant. We're having a baby." He still didn't say anything and she was a bit worried by that, so she kept on going. "That was a bit of a surprise, to say the least. We just learned about it, and you're the first one we share the news with."

All of the sudden, her son's expression changed completely and he leaned to wrap his arms around her neck and hold her close to him. His shoulders were shaking and for an insane second, she was scared that he was crying, but she soon realized that he was actually laughing quietly. Her anxiety faded away at once as she was understanding that her little boy was happy, and she rubbed his back as he was saying.

"Really, Mom? That's awesome! I always wanted siblings. I'm so happy for you!"

She smiled at that and met Killian's own grin from above their son's shoulder. She was a bit surprised by Henry's statement though, because he'd never told her about this desire to be a big brother, but she couldn't have been happier about his reaction. His joy seemed endless on that moment and she chuckled silently too, as he was pulling away to hug his father as well. Killian seemed like the happiest man on earth, and seeing her family smiling so much made her heart feel so full everything felt right in the world again.

"Do you know how far along you are?" He asked as Killian was dropping a kiss to the top of his head.

"I'm not sure, a few weeks I guess." Emma said, sitting back down on the bed next to her two boys and the biggest smile still drawn on her face. "The baby will be there next winter, probably."

"Okay, but I have to ask the question." He replied with a teasing smile. "Do you guys think it's a boy or a girl? I'm pretty sure some bets will be born out of this, when everyone will learn about the baby."

"I didn't even ask myself this question yet." Killian laughed. "What do you think?"

"I think it doesn't really matter. We will love it more than anything, no matter what."

"That's right." Emma agreed with a moved smile at his words. "We will."

"I can't wait for it to be here! I always wanted to be a big brother, and teach my sibling how to read and everything. This is amazing, guys."

Emma felt like she was going to cry at how proud she was of her little boy, and she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder to say. "It's not even born yet, and you're already the best big brother there is, kid. This baby is going to adore you."

"I hope so!" He joked, making his parents laugh. "It means that we can find ways for you to feel better Mom, right?" He continued more seriously. "I'm worried about you, and I hope that Blue gave you some solutions to help."

"She did." Emma reassured him gently. "Everything is going to be alright now, and in a few weeks, I'll be as good as new, I'm sure of it."

"These really are the best news." Henry then sighed, always with this huge smile, and she came to wrap her arms around both him and Killian for a hug.

"Gods, we love you so much, kid. And we're so proud of you."

"I love you both, too." He answered in a low voice. "And I already love this baby so much. We're going to be so happy, the four of us. I can already tell."

"I know we will." Killian agreed softly.

They stayed there for a few moments in silence, just wrapped up into this embrace to tell their love to one another. And then, even if he knew a lot already because of all the books he'd read in his life, Henry started to ask them questions about what was really going to happen for the next few months. He placed his hand on his mom's stomach for a minute, looking truly surprised that there was still no visible signs of this little baby yet, while it was already taking so much place in their hearts.

Beside the two people she loved the most, Emma started to relax completely. She was totally reassured now, because they were all happy, and she knew that they were going to be alright. Henry seemed thrilled, and Killian already adored the idea of being a dad again, and she couldn't wait to raise this baby in this loving and supportive environment. She was never going to be alone again. She suddenly felt a wave of pure adoration for this little bean that she was carrying in her, and she promised that she was going to do anything for it to be safe. She was so happy she felt dizzy with it. This was perfect.

* * *

They stayed in Henry's room for a very long time, just enjoying these news and imagining their future as a family. And then, after a while, they decided that there was only one thing left to do. They had to tell her parents. Keeping the secret didn't even cross their minds, because Snow and David needed to know, even if she was still in the very early stage of her pregnancy. She knew that they were going to be so happy to have another grandchild that they could spoil rotten, and she was truly eager to ask her mother for some advice about this entire situation.

Sure, she'd been pregnant before, but this was nothing compared to what was going to happen now. She was barely just a kid herself when she'd had Henry and she had no idea of what she was doing back then, she was just trying to survive. She'd spent her entire pregnancy being cold and hungry, and she knew that now, she had dozens of people to take care of this baby with her. And she really wanted her mom's opinion and reassurance, because she felt like she could give her the comfort she still needed.

They headed for the main part of the castle together, Henry's smile bigger than ever as his joy didn't seem to fade away. She was holding Killian's hand in hers, and she could feel the way he was looking at her, not leaving her sight for a second. He was staring as if she were an angel coming right from heaven to bless him, and she turned to smile at him. She knew that he was absolutely ecstatic, so much that he didn't really know what to do with himself anymore. So she pressed his fingers between hers and asked.

"You okay?"

"More than that, darling." He beamed at her. "I'm just… I'm so happy. And I can't stop looking at you. Thank you, my love."

"Wait, why are you thanking me?" She asked, a bit puzzled by his last words.

"Because you gave me a family when I had nothing. Because you've always loved every part of me without barrier, like I love everything about you, and you showed me that I deserved happiness after all. You gave me everything that I could ever have wished for. And now we're having another child together. So thank you for making every single one of my dreams come true."

She blinked to chase the tears away from her eyes, deeply touched by his little speech because she felt the exact same way about him. He was making her the happiest she'd ever been, and she knew how lucky she was that they'd found each other. She pulled him closer to reach his lips, and he murmured that he loved her through their kiss as his hand was spread wide in her back to hold as much of her as he possibly could.

They were only interrupted by Henry, who faked to cough and said with laughter in his voice. "Guys, I'm waiting."

It made them laugh too, and they pulled away, their hands still linked together, to finally go join her parents. They found them in the dining room, busy talking with the guards and probably trying to build a new plan and keep all of them safe from Regina. They seemed very focused on their task, but Snow immediately turned to them when she heard them coming in. She placed her hand on David's shoulder to draw his attention, smiled at the guards to excuse herself, and approached them with a big smile on her face.

"Emma! I'm so glad to see you back on your feet! Blue told us that you were okay, and that we didn't have to worry, but I'm happy to see it by myself. How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling great." She answered, and it wasn't a lie because she was truly feeling so much better now that she knew what was going on wit her, and she was really excited to see her parents' reaction to the revelation she had to make. "Sorry to bother you, though. Your discussion seemed important."

"You're not bothering us at all." David corrected with a grin. "We were just talking with the guards to see what was the best way to defend the castle. They're going to watch every strategic places inside and outside the palace, some are even already in front of your apartment. We don't want to take any chance of someone getting hurt again."

"Regina told me that she wanted to come back today, back when we were in the cold room, but I doubt that it will happen." Emma stated with a little shrug. "She must know that I'm okay, and she won't try anything else for a while. She likes taking us by surprise, and she's probably going to wait before striking again."

"That's what we thought, too. Blue is still going to call for the other fairies, so they can put stronger defenses around the castle. Regina won't be able to break in if she comes, and she'll be trapped in no time. This will end soon, I'm sure of it." David said with confidence, as if he were actually sure that everything was going to be alright.

"Are you guys okay?" Snow then asked, as Killian and Emma were nodding to show the King that his plan was definitely a good one.

"Yeah, why?" Emma answered, a bit intrigued by this sudden question.

"You're looking happier than ever, and Blue seemed quite cheerful when she came to talk to us earlier. That's a bit odd. What's going on?"

Emma exchanged an amused look with Killian at her mother's words, as Henry was chuckling beside them. They just couldn't wait to tell them everything now, but they were also well aware that this wasn't the right place to do so. Dozens of employees were in the room with them, as everyone was busy trying to make the castle safe again. They needed to find a quiet place, and she then said with a bright smile.

"We're all more than fine, but we do have something to tell you. Can we go somewhere calmer, so we can talk in private? These are good news, don't worry." She added, seeing that her parents were looking at her with a bit of concern shining in their eyes. "I just don't want to risk being interrupted."

The royal couple looked at each other for a second, seeming a bit intrigued, but they didn't ask any questions and they all decided to go to the library upstairs. This was a quiet place and Henry absolutely loved it, so this was definitely the perfect choice to tell Snow and David about the little baby that was going to join the family in a few months.

Emma smiled all the way as she was walking up the stairs, feeling her heart happily hammering against her ribs. She couldn't believe all the crazy things that had happened that day. First they'd all thought that she was going to die, and now she got to tell everyone that she was pregnant. This was insane, and yet this was amazing.

She went to stand before the fireplace when they arrived into the empty room, facing her parents and so excited to finally tell them all about what was going on. Killian came to wrap his arms around her from behind, his chin resting on her shoulder and his hand on her stomach. She knew that this position was going to become his favorite for the next few months, as she knew that she would never get sick of him already loving their child so much.

Snow waited for a second and, seeing that Emma didn't know how to start, she asked. "So? What did you want to tell us?"

She didn't answer right away, enjoying this moment of pure bliss after everything that she'd been through. If she'd been scared at first when she'd learned the news, she wasn't afraid anymore and it was wonderful. Seeing her boys being so happy, and knowing that she was going to do everything to protect this baby was reassuring her so much. This was perfect, and she wanted to remember these moments forever.

And she was so delighted to know that she was carrying this little bean, now. She was going to have a baby with the love of her life, she was going to raise and protect and love it, and they were going to be happy. In a few months, she would get to hold this little being that was half her and half Killian, and she felt her heart swelling at this thought. Sighing in happiness, she placed her hand above her husband's on her stomach and buried herself deeper into his embrace. Right there and despite the threat they still had to face, this felt like heaven.

She was finally about to tell her parents everything when she suddenly turned to look at her son instead, as he still seemed so happy she couldn't help but chuckle. An idea crossed her mind then and thinking that it was a better idea than to reveal everything herself, she offered to her little boy.

"Do you want to tell them, kiddo?"

"Can I?" He asked, looking absolutely thrilled by this idea.

"Of course." Killian nodded, laughing at their son's impatience.

Henry turned to his grandparents, looking so proud to have the possibility to tell them about the baby himself. He took a second and stared at them with a huge happy smile, then he finally announced cheerfully.

"I'm going to be a big brother!"

The way he'd chosen to divulge what was happening made Emma smile. He was definitely so happy to have a little sibling that he could protect and love, this was making her feel so complete. She already knew that he was going to be the best with this little one, and she could see them being the best of friends despite the age gap between them. She just couldn't wait to witness all of these beautiful things and to live every day of her life beside this wonderful family.

There was a second of silence in the room, as if her parents needed time to understand Henry's words. It didn't make any sense to them after all, and she felt Killian smiling against her as David and Snow looked a little bit confused. Then her mother's eyes fell on their hands still linked over her stomach, and she finally seemed to grasp the reality of the situation. All of the sudden, her expression changed completely, her eyes widened and she let go of a cry of pure joy that made everyone in the room startle.

Emma had guessed that her parents were going to be happy, but she hadn't expected that kind of reaction either and it made her laugh. Snow rushed to them then, pulling both Killian and Emma into a tight embrace. She seemed as excited as her grandson was by these news, and she congratulated them again and again, not giving them the time to say anything. That made them chuckle once again, and it's only a minute later that David started to talk too, asking with tears of emotion in his eyes.

"Truly, Emma? You guys are having a baby?"

She turned to look at him more easily, and saw how touched he was by the fact that another child was coming into the family, because he seemed about to start crying. Snow let go of her, and Emma stepped into her father's embrace, herself moved beyond words by his incredible reaction. He held her close, protectively cradling her head, and he whispered to her ear.

"Congratulations, sweetheart. This little one is going the be the happiest child on earth."

She bit her lower lip to try not to start crying, because these words really meant a lot to her. He pulled away to press a little kiss on the top of her head, and he then approached Killian, patting his shoulder a bit awkwardly. Her husband's smile still hadn't left him once since he'd heard the news hours before, and it widened again at his father-in-law's reaction. Emma smiled at the bond the two men were sharing and placed her hand on her son's shoulder, as David was saying.

"I'm happy for you, Killian. And I see how good you are with Henry. This baby is incredibly lucky to have you as its father."

This obviously touched her husband a lot, because he simply nodded but didn't say anything, as his eyes were shining with unshed tears. As her parents still seemed completely in awe, Killian then came back to her and took her in his arms to bury his face in her hair and breathe her in. And there in this room, sharing these news with the family she'd once thought she would never have, Emma swore that this was what true happiness felt like.

Snow insisted for her daughter to sit down after that, stating that after everything she'd been through that day, her and the baby needed some rest. Killian nodded seriously at that, obviously agreeing with the Queen, and Emma didn't find it in her to protest. She was actually pretty tired now, even if it didn't feel unpleasant this time. So, with a smile still on her face and comfortably leaning against the pillows of the sofa as Killian was holding her close, she answered her parents' questions about how they'd found out that she was pregnant. She wanted to be able to freeze these moments to replay them in her head forever, because this was absolutely perfect.

Killian ended up kissing her temple, and he said against her skin with a small smile. "I'm going to need your advice on this though, love. It's the first time I really witness a pregnancy, and I would like to know more. I want you to be as comfortable as possible."

"I know you do." Emma answered with a grin, because she could already tell how adorable he was going to be with her and their unborn child for the next few months.

"Oh, Snow and I actually have some books on the subject, we got them when she was pregnant with you, Emma." David then stated. "I can show them to you, if you want to. They must be somewhere in this library."

"There are dozens of them." Snow laughed at these memories. "Your father wanted to know everything about what was going to happen, and he was following every little thing he was reading in them."

"I'd love to see them, in that case." Killian said, and Emma playfully rolled her eyes at that, because she was so sure that he was going to spend hours reading about everything there had to know, just to make sure that her and the baby were okay.

Killian didn't pay attention to her mockery and simply kissed her cheek before standing up as David was gesturing for him to come. Henry decided to go with them, as always happy to spend some time in one of his favorite places in the entire world. She then found herself alone with her mother, as Snow was still smiling at her and looking so deeply delighted. The three boys gone, Emma said with a little chuckle.

"Something tells me that Killian is going to do the exact same thing David's done with you when you were pregnant. He's so happy, and he already wants to take care of me and the baby, to make sure that we're alright."

"He's a good father" Snow nodded with a smile. She moved to come sit beside her daughter, and asked more seriously. "You're talking about Killian, but are you? Happy, I mean."

"I truly am." Emma answered immediately. "I was scared at first, because it came as a surprise and I'm afraid that I won't be able to protect this baby from Regina. It's not a very good timing, but I also know that we'll figure things out. We always do, and I'm so happy to be pregnant."

"You're right, we'll protect the little one." Her mother assured with confidence. "Nothing is going to happen to anyone in this family. We'll defeat her. She'll never do to you what she did to me, and I can promise you that you won't ever have to be apart from Henry or from this baby. I won't let this happen."

"I know, we'll fight to keep this family together, whatever it takes." Emma agreed, feeling already so comforted by the Queen's statement.

"I also know that this must be hard for you, given how your first pregnancy went." Snow added gently. "I just want to make sure that you're okay."

Emma had told her parents a little bit about Neal when Henry wasn't listening, since her son didn't know the real story of what had happened between them. He still thought that his biological father was dead and he had no idea that he'd actually abandoned her, so she'd made her parents promise that they would keep the secret about her past. David and Snow thus knew what had truly occurred for her to end up in a cell, and it was obvious that her mother was a bit worried about her. So, lowering her voice in case her son could hear her, she answered instantly to reassure the Queen.

"The news did bring back painful memories at first. I love Henry more than anything, but my pregnancy wasn't a very happy one, since I was in cell and was just trying to survive. But I know that things are so different, now. I have you and David, and I have Killian, who I'm sure is never going to leave me. I'm not alone in this. And this baby is going to be healthy, I'm going to make sure of that. I don't want to be afraid about it like I was scared for Henry, because the conditions were awful back then."

Snow frowned at that and asked, looking very concerned. "Weren't they more careful with you, since you were with child?"

"They didn't give a damn about me." Emma simply shrugged. "I was just a criminal for them, and I could have died for all they cared. But the other prisoners were taking care of me. I was young and alone, and even though we didn't really have the right to talk to each other, they always made sure that I had enough to eat, and that I wasn't too cold. I never saw them again after I was freed from my cell, I don't even know if they're still alive, but I'm pretty sure that Henry was as healthy as he was when he was born thanks to these strangers."

"Gods, honey, I'm so sorry you've been through all of this." She whispered, looking deeply pained by her daughter's revelations. "You're so brave. I wish I could make the people who hurt you pay for what they did."

"It's in the past." Emma comforted her, because she didn't want to be afraid of her own story anymore. She had a family now, she was happy and she wanted to look toward the future and not back at the pain. "Look where I am now. I'm married, I have a wonderful son, I found you guys. I'm spending my second pregnancy in a castle, and I don't have to be worried about starving anymore. I never thought that this could be possible one day, and I'm so grateful for it."

"You'll never have to be alone ever again." Snow promised her softly. "We'll make sure of that."

"I know." Emma smiled, before adding a bit more teasingly. "The thing is, I actually have no idea of how a normal pregnancy is supposed to go. So I'm going to need your advice on that."

"I'll help you in every way I can. And these books that David are giving to Killian right now will answer a lot of questions, too. Everything is going to be just fine, you'll see."

"I know it will." Emma agreed, and it wasn't a lie, because she wouldn't accept anything else from this situation.

They kept on talking for a while after that, about her feelings and their future all together. She'd never opened up like this to her mother before, and she felt closer to her than she'd ever been. On that moment, she didn't even have doubts about the way she wanted to call her parents anymore. Maybe for the very first time, she was feeling like she was talking to her actual mom. Not only the person who had brought her into the world, but someone who would always be there for her when she needed her to. She felt loved and supported, and she was so glad to have them in her life. This was taking time because this was a complicated situation, but she sincerely adored them and she was so happy to be able to learn more about these wonderful people.

She then didn't hesitate when they were done talking. She took Snow into her arms as a quiet thank you for her support and whispered to her ear. "Thank you, Mom. It truly means so much that you're here for me. And I'm so happy to be here. I'm happy to have you and Dad back."

She could feel how moved her mother was by her sudden statement and by the way she'd called them. Snow held her daughter a bit closer, but she didn't have the chance to answer anything, because they heard Henry, David and Killian coming back. So she just pulled away to smile, and Emma understood exactly what she wanted to tell her at the endless pride that was shining in her eyes. She grinned back, her heart feeling so full, and finally turned to look at the rest of her family again.

She playfully raised her eyebrows when she saw the amount of books Killian was carrying with him, and she asked. "Are you planning on reading all of that?"

"Of course. Well, the other half is still on the shelves, but I'll come back for them later. What?" He asked, falsely disapproving of her mocking look. "I'd like to be informed of what's going to happen, now."

It simply made her laugh as her husband was coming to sit back down beside her, and they kept on chatting for a few moments. But as time passed, Emma started to get truly tired again. She'd been through a lot that day after all, and she really wanted to go get some rest. Killian immediately saw how exhausted she was, and he offered to go back to their apartment so she could sleep for a while, but she still insisted to do something else first. She just couldn't wait any longer.

Agreeing with her idea, they then all went back to the common room, to find Kate and Chiara and tell them the good news. They wanted to wait a bit more before telling the other employees about the baby, to make sure that everything really was okay, but she just wanted her best friends to know what was going on. They'd always been there for her, and they deserved to share this beautiful secret with the family.

Without surprise, they were both ecstatic and took Emma in their arms to share a happy embrace with her. She realized then just how much her life had changed in the span of a few months. She was about to have another child with her True Love. She was surrounded and loved, and she felt so complete. Their future would be brighter than she could ever have imagined, she didn't have a single doubt about it anymore. The ring on her finger and the little bean she was carrying in her belly, as well as the smiles of her family and friends were telling her just that.

* * *

"You know, Swan, even though I'm so happy… I'm a little bit scared too."

Surprised by his unexpected statement, Emma turned to look at her husband. The night had settled for a while now and their room was dark, only enlightened by the dim light of the moon coming through the window to fall right on his gorgeous face. They were both lying down in their bed, his hand on her naked stomach once again. She was tired, but she didn't want to sleep right away, wanting to enjoy these peaceful moments just for a little bit longer.

She hadn't thought about the fact that he could be scared too, because he'd seemed nothing but thrilled during the day, so she asked in a low voice. "You are? Why?"

"I've never raised a baby before." He explained. "Henry was seven when I met you, and I've never taken care of a younger child. I know that I've managed with him even though I'd never been a dad before, but I don't know how to protect a little baby from the dangers of this world. With my father gone, I've never had a real example of that."

"You're the best dad Henry could ever have wished for." She answered, rolling on her side to be able to look at him. She wanted to soothe his fears like he'd comforted hers, because she trusted him with everything that she had. "And this little one is already so lucky to have you. You'll know what to do, I'm sure of it. We'll do this together."

"You know what reassures me?" He said, smiling a little bit at her words. "You do. Seeing you interact with our son and with every child you cross path with. You're kind with them, and they all adore you. And I know that you'll show me the way."

"You already know the way, babe." She corrected him, suddenly remembering the moment at their wedding during which he'd danced with Melody, and how incredible he'd always been with her. "You're a natural. You know, when you danced with Ariel's daughter at our wedding, for an instant, I actually saw how you were going to be with our child if we ever decided to add someone to the family. And now it's happening, and I couldn't be happier to live this adventure with you."

"Gods, Emma, I love you." He murmured, sweetly kissing her lips. "Meeting you and Henry is the best thing that's ever happened to me, and now our family is growing again. I can't wait to meet the wee one, you know? Our future is going to be wonderful, my Swan. As long as you're with me, I don't have to be scared."

She bit her bottom lip to try not to start crying, wondering if this man would one day cease to amaze her. She already knew the answer to that question, because he would always manage to make her fall a bit deeper in love with him. He was always going to make her feel loved and safe, and she couldn't wait to see what the future had in store for them.

He started to talk again after a few seconds, saying much more teasingly. "I still think that we have to make some adjustments, now. For instance, I don't believe that continuing your sword fighting lessons is a brilliant idea. I don't want you to risk getting hurt."

"I'm too tired to train right now, anyway. And it's funny that you say that, because there is a pretty big chance that this baby is there now thanks to one of these lessons." She chuckled, remembering their moment during their honeymoon in the hold of their ship.

It made him laugh slightly too, and he suddenly moved so he could face her belly. She raised her eyebrows at that, amused by his behavior, and he pressed a little kiss on her skin there, so tenderly that it sent a pleasant shiver down her spine. In a low voice, he started to talk to their child and she thought that her heart was going to burst at how perfect he was.

"Hey, little one. I'm your dad."

She chuckled from emotion, gently running her fingers through his hair. This baby was still invisible, nothing could tell them that it was there, and yet she could already feel the bond Killian was sharing with it. He really didn't have to be afraid. He knew exactly what to do, and she was so happy that her children could look up to such an amazing man.

"You're incredible." She just whispered, her voice a bit broken by her tears of joy.

"The woman you hear there is your mum." He continued, gently stroking the skin just above her belly-button. "You are lucky you know, because she's the most amazing and beautiful person that I know. I love her so very much. I love your brother, and we all already adore you."

She sighed in pure bliss at that, and Killian got back up to reach her lips and kiss her. At first gentle, their embrace became more and more demanding, his hand caressing her naked skin as she hadn't bothered to put on her nightgown to go to bed. They hadn't gone any further than a few gentle strokes since they'd learned about the baby, and despite her exhaustion, she wanted him so much she was almost aching with it. She arched her back to get closer to him and was about to deepen the kiss when he suddenly pulled away, making her sigh in frustration.

"What's the matter?"

"Isn't it… I mean, isn't it dangerous?" He stuttered, looking truly worried. "I don't want to risk hurting the wee one, love."

"It is perfectly safe, babe." She laughed, amused by his concern, but also understanding his question because he'd never been with a pregnant woman before, after all. "Fortunately, because I wasn't planning on staying without doing this for nine months."

"Good." He said then, dropping a little kiss to the tip of her nose and making her giggle. "Because I really want to worship you like the goddess you are. Tonight and for the rest of eternity."

She bit her lip at that and he came to kiss her again. It was tender that night, and as he was showing her how much he loved her yet another time, she realized that she was drowning in pure happiness. She wrapped her arms around him as he was whispering his adoration to her again and again, and she saw how wonderful their lives together really was going to be. She just couldn't wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for all the support once again, guys! I just wanted to say that it is highly possible that I won't be able to update as regularly as I do now from now on, but I'm going to do the best I can! See you soon!


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So I'm warning you, this is a pretty heavy chapter, and that's why I took so long to update, because I wanted the next one to be ready so I wouldn't leave you on a cliffhanger for too long. I hope you'll still like it and won't hate me too much at the end haha. Enjoy!

Lying down on her back in the big bed she was sharing with her husband, one of her hands resting on her stomach and the other behind her head, Emma was staring out the window of her room. The sky was dark, but thousands of stars were shining up there, as it was a clear and peaceful night. The sight was beautiful and comforting, and yet she just couldn't enjoy it fully. She was way too frustrated for that.

She forced herself not to start tossing and turning once again, in order not to wake Killian up. Doing so wouldn't have been of any use anyway, because nothing felt comfortable to her on that moment. They'd started the night wrapped up in their usual loving embrace, because they both liked feeling the other close before diving into their dreams, but she was way too hot to be able to stay in this otherwise amazing position. So she'd first made sure that her husband really was asleep, and she'd slowly rolled on her back to push back her blankets and sigh in despair.

She turned her head and managed a small smile when her eyes met Killian's peaceful expression. He was so adorable when he was sleeping, she could have watched him for hours. He would usually always wait for her to have fallen asleep before closing his own eyes, that was a tender habit that he'd taken ever since the very beginning of their relationship. It was as if he always wanted to make sure that she was alright before allowing himself to sleep too, and he was only more careful since he'd learned about the pregnancy. He just wanted her and the baby to be okay.

He could spend hours just watching over her when she was sick, which was luckily getting rarer thanks to the miraculous tea Blue had told them about. But this time, she'd decided that he needed to take some rest, too. She'd then pretended to fall asleep so he would finally close his eyes, because he was exhausted as well. It wasn't because she was chasing sleep that he had to do the same. She just wanted him to be okay, too.

And he couldn't have done anything about the reason why she was so uncomfortable lately, anyway. It was all because of this awful heat wave that was going on in the kingdom, yellowing the grass and making her want to scream sometimes. She'd always liked the sun, she'd once loved being able to stay outside for hours, but now that she was pregnant, the clammy air of the gardens seemed unbearable and she felt like she couldn't even breathe properly sometimes. She just couldn't wait for this season to be over, and the be able to stop being so hot all the time.

She wasn't even that far into the pregnancy yet. She was only a few weeks along, as they'd learned that she was with child barely a couple of weeks earlier. Her stomach was still perfectly flat, and if her breast already seemed fuller, this was still the only visible sign of her pregnancy. She couldn't help but wonder how things were going to be when she would be the size of a house, if she was already feeling so awkward now. Even though she was so happy to be carrying this little bean, she wasn't really eager to find out.

The fact that the baby's presence was still invisible wasn't stopping Killian from placing his hand on her stomach and having one way conversations with their child several times a day. He would tell it stories of treasures and ocean, like he was still doing every night with Henry, and he would sing it lullabies at night in his deep, soothing voice. He'd read in one of her parents' books that doing so would allow the baby to get used to his presence, and the bond he was sharing with it was already unbreakable.

Emma would kindly laugh at him sometimes, telling him that their child was probably still too small to hear anything that was going on. He would always answer by pecking her lips, telling her that he just wanted their little one to know that it was so loved already. He was so adorable, pampering her and looking happier than ever. He was also now deeply reassured by the fact that she was only rarely sick anymore, but she knew that all these nights she was forced to spend without sleep were beginning to worry him. She was exhausted, she just wanted to get some rest and yet she was unable to because of this damn heat. That was so unfair she could have punched a wall from frustration.

They still hadn't told anyone else but their family and close friends about the pregnancy. The only employees who knew about it were Kate and Chiara, and they weren't planning on telling the kingdom anytime soon, either. They were going to keep this secret like a hidden treasure, for as long as they would be able to. She wouldn't start showing before a few more weeks after all, and they'd decided that keeping the news discreet would be the best way to protect the baby from Regina. If the Evil Queen knew about the little bean, she could try to hurt it too, and no one wanted to take any chance of such a thing happening.

The witch still hadn't showed herself since Emma had got out of the cold room she'd created. She'd probably realized that the protection spells around the palace were stronger than before and that she wouldn't manage to escape the guards this time, as they were still watching every single entrance. She'd also discovered that Emma's magic was way more powerful than what she'd thought in the first place, since she'd managed to break free from her prison, and she was probably trying to find another plan, stronger than the previous ones. They were at peace for now, but time was ticking. They had to be ready for a fight, and couldn't let their guard down.

She absently stroked the skin of her stomach, as if to protect the baby. She was doing this so often ever since she'd learned that she was pregnant, wanting to be as close to her child as possible, and promise that she was going to do anything to keep it safe. She wouldn't let this witch hurt Henry, the little one, or any of the people she loved. She would fight until she was sure that this woman couldn't hurt anyone ever again.

Her son was still so happy about this little sibling that was going to join the family soon. He would ask her questions about the baby all the time, wanting to make sure that it was alright. His behavior was so much like Killian's, as her husband had already read most of the books David had showed him. He would tell her what he'd discovered in it and seemed genuinely interested, insisting for her to follow every advice he was learning about in there.

She would often mock him a little bit because of it, but she was finding him absolutely incredible. Seeing him so happy and impatient to know their baby was delighting her beyond words. She knew that this little one had everything it needed to be healthy, with all the people surrounding her and wanting to make sure that she was doing okay. Her parents were helping her a lot too, and she was feeling so much more confident about what she was doing, now. This little baby was going to arrive into a world where it was already adored by everyone. It had every chance to have a good life, and she was so happy that it would never know the hardships her and Killian had had to go through to survive.

She sighed slightly, wondering if she would be able to get any sleep that night. Probably not, she thought, and staying in that damn bed was driving her nuts. She then decided to get out of there, and got up in silence so she wouldn't accidentally wake Killian up. Since she wasn't going to rest anyway, she could as well find something to do. She approached the window, left ajar to try and keep the heat at bay, but the slight breeze that was entering the room was warm and it didn't make her feel any better.

Still absently watching the sky, she tied her hair up into a messy bun to clear her neck. She was sweating, and felt so angry that she was pregnant in the middle of summer. She was however well aware that things would have been much worse if she'd spent the end of her pregnancy in these conditions, so she was thankful that the baby was going to arrive during winter. At least she would only have to suffer like this for a little while longer.

All of the sudden, her stomach let go of a loud growl and she pressed her hand against it once again. She realized with surprise that she was actually starving, while she'd been fine a few seconds before. Ever since her sicknesses had got better, she was feeling like she was eating for three. Her stomach just wouldn't stop rumbling, and she seemed to always be hungry. She knew that this situation was only accentuated by the fact that she'd spent her first pregnancy practically starving, and that she was now lucky enough to have anything she could ever wish for. She damn well intended to enjoy that.

Killian would find these situations quite amusing, but she could tell that he was truly happy to see that she'd got her appetite back. He was even often encouraging her not to fight against her cravings, because he just wanted her and the baby to be okay. He also insisted for her to eat as healthy as possible, placing his hand on her belly and whispering that the little one needed all the vitamins it could get to grow correctly. She would never protest against that, because now that she had the opportunity to make sure that her child was alright, she just wanted the little one in there to have everything it needed. She already loved it so much.

But when these kind of cravings decided to attack her in the middle of the night, she would usually try to fight against them. She didn't want to empty every cupboards of their little kitchen, and she knew that these wouldn't last anyway. But this time she was actually starving, and she just couldn't resist it. She felt like she had a hole in her stomach, and she really wanted to make it disappear. And she couldn't sleep anyway. She might as well treat herself a little bit.

She headed for the kitchen in silence, careful not to wake Killian or Henry up. She knew exactly what she wanted, but she was highly disappointed when she opened the cupboards containing their food. She found plenty of fruits and vegetables, and the only appealing thing there was a piece of cake that they'd been keeping as leftovers from dinner. She didn't want that either though, and she frowned, feeling like nothing was going the way she wanted it to. She was only carving one thing. Chicken, a lot of it. And there was nothing resembling that in this damn apartment.

Exhausted, disappointed and frustrated, she went to collapse on the living room couch with a little grunt of despair. She felt like everything was just trying to anger her lately. First she couldn't sleep because she was too hot, and now she didn't even have anything to relieve her hunger. She placed both her hands on her stomach, lying down on the pillows of the sofa. _You're determined not to make my life easy, baby, huh?_ She thought internally. _You're lucky that I love you._

She stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, and only came back to reality when she heard the door of her bedroom opening again. She immediately recognized Killian's steps approaching her without having to look at him, and she smiled slightly when his face appeared from above her. He raised his eyebrows, obviously surprised to see her there, and she only made a face at that, making him smile. He crouched in front of her and, in a low voice so he wouldn't wake their son up, he asked.

"What's the matter, love? Are you feeling sick again?"

"No, I'm fine. I'm just too hot." She simply shrugged so he wouldn't get too worried about her. "Did I wake you? I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to."

"Don't apologize, darling, it's okay. I just realized that you weren't next to me in the bed anymore, and I wanted to make sure that everything was alright."

She smiled at his sweet words, as she knew exactly what he meant by that. The bed always felt so big and cold to her as well, when he wasn't there by her side. He came to sit down next to her, and she instantly moved to place her head on his lap and be as close to him as she possibly could. His fingers started to play with a loose strand of her hair, and they stayed like this for a while in silence, as his presence was already soothing her more than anything else could ever have. After a few instants, he finally started to talk again.

"I'm sorry that you're unable to sleep, my love. Can I do something to make you feel better?"

"I'm fine." She repeated, because she really didn't want him to be more concerned that he already was, and not telling him about her cravings because he needed to go get some rest, too.

"Why did you come here instead of staying in the room?" He asked, curious. "You could have woken me up, you know. I could have kept you company."

She sighed and shrugged again, making him smile down at her. He really was amazing, always wanting to make sure that she was okay, and thinking that if she couldn't sleep, he wouldn't get any rest either. He was finding it sort of unfair that she was the one having to bear the consequences of carrying their child for nine months, and he just wanted to support her in this. He leaned to press a little kiss on her forehead and she then decided to tell him the truth, because he always knew when she was hiding something from him anyway.

"I wanted you to get some more sleep, you're tired too. And I wanted to see if there was something to eat in the kitchen because I'm starving, but I didn't find anything."

"Oh, I thought that Chiara had come to bring over some food last night. That's odd." He said, looking truly surprised by her statement.

"Yeah, that's not what I meant." She corrected with a little wince. "There is food in there, just not what I'm looking for."

"And what are you looking for, Swan?" He asked, chuckling at the disappointed face she was making.

"I really want chicken." She admitted after a second of hesitation. "Hey!" She protested when she saw that he was still laughing. "Don't you dare mock me, your child is the one that is making me feel like that!"

"I'm not mocking you, darling." He said without losing his smile, and she couldn't help but grin as well and how amazing he always was. "I just happen to think that you're adorable."

"Yeah, well you'll probably change your mind when I'll start yelling at you because I get frustrated when I'm hungry." She replied, wanting to sound falsely threatening but she was still laughing at the same time.

"And we don't want that to happen, do we? Let's go to the main kitchens, love. There must be plenty of chicken there to please you and the wee one."

"Wait, what about Henry?" She said immediately, because if this idea sounded like heaven, she didn't want to leave their son all alone in the apartment. "I don't want him to get worried in case he wakes up and doesn't find us anywhere. You know how concerned he is because of Regina, I just don't want to scare him."

"Let's leave him a note, then." Killian reassured her gently. "The lad is safe here, darling. There are guards in front of the door and everywhere in the palace. Regina can't hurt him, that I can promise you."

"You're right." Emma nodded, because she knew that she couldn't keep on being this overprotective because of the situation. "Let's do that."

Killian smiled and leaned once again to reach her lips and press a little and tender kiss there, his hand still on her stomach. They stayed like that for a short while, then she stood back up as her husband was taking the time to write down a little note for their son, leaving it on their night table so Henry wouldn't get too worried. And then, as she'd got her smile back at the thought that she was going to finally relieve her cravings soon, Killian took her hand and they silently left their apartment to head for the main part of the palace.

They waved at the guards that were standing in front of their door, as someone was watching it day and night so Regina wouldn't manage to hurt them ever again. The men there didn't seem surprised to see them going out at this hour of the night, even though they didn't know that Emma was pregnant yet, and they just smiled at them and resumed their careful watch. Knowing that they were there to protect everyone was so reassuring, even if she also knew that she could take care of herself and her family. With all these precautions, they would manage to catch Regina sooner or later. And then everything would finally be over, and she could live the peaceful pregnancy she was dreaming of.

They kept quiet as they were moving through the hallways, still hand in hand. They arrived into the empty kitchens a few minutes later, and Emma smiled at the marvelous scent that was coming from the room. It was still smelling like meat and cake, and it only made her feel hungrier. She leaned on a counter as Killian was searching the cupboards to find what she wanted, and he came back with chicken legs in less than a few instants. She grinned happily at that, feeling already so much better now that she knew she was going to get what she wanted, and her stomach only started to growl even louder at the sight.

Killian laughed at the sound her belly had made, moving the get her meal ready. "The little one seems quite impatient, love. I better hurry."

"It already knows all about your skills in the kitchen." She replied, approaching him to kiss his lips as a quiet thank you for always wanting to give her everything she could ever have wished for.

He smiled, and in barely a few moments, her snack was finally ready. She once again felt so thankful that she was now able to have access to these kind of things. No one had cared about the fact that she was starving when she was pregnant with Henry, and now she had everything she wanted, she would never have to be hungry again and Killian would have given her the moon if she'd asked for it. She felt so incredibly lucky and, despite the threat that they were still facing, she knew that this pregnancy was going to be so different from her first one. She didn't have to be scared about her baby being in danger because of bad treatments, and this was such a relief given where she was coming from.

Killian gently guided her to the dining room, where they sat side by side as she was starting to finally enjoy the food she'd been longing for. Her husband chuckled slightly when he saw her eagerness, and she stopped eating for an instant as he was leaning to peck her lips, his hand finding its way to her stomach yet another time.

"Do you want some?" Emma then offered, gesturing toward the full plate in front of them. "I'll probably have too much anyway, I could as well share with you."

"That's okay, love." He refused with a tender grin. "You and the little one need to get some strength back after everything you've both been through, aye?"

"Well, I can tell you that the bean is happy." She nodded, feeling in such a good mood now and pressing a little kiss on his cheek to thank him for doing all of this with her in the middle of the night.

"I love you so much." He stated out of the blue, making her heart stutter. "You're the most incredible person that I know, Swan."

"I love you, too." She whispered, blushing a little bit at his words. "But wait until I start getting mood swings, and I begin to yell at you for no reason at all." She teased then.

"Emma, you're carrying our child." He countered seriously. "You're growing our family, and seeing you suffering from the heat and being sick because of that is paining me. I so wish that I could help you bear this wee one, so we could share some of the discomfort you're going through. So you can yell at me as much as you want. You're so brave and strong, and I would like to do so much more for you and the bean."

"Killian, you're already doing so much." She replied, deeply touched by his sudden statement, and thinking that she really had found the best man in the world to share her life with. "You show me that you love me and that I'll never be alone again every day of our life together. You make me so happy. And I love you beyond everything."

He stared at her for a while, eyes shining as if she were an angel, then he finally leaned to kiss her for a long, long time. She ran her hand through his hair to bring him closer, and they shared a powerful and loving embrace, silently telling their love and how happy they were about this family that they were creating.

She quickly finished her meal, and they took a few minutes to clean behind them before going back up to their apartment. Her stomach relieved and her smile back, Emma snuggled into Killian's arms when they lied down in their bed. He kissed her head, and for the first time for what seemed like forever, she immediately fell into the sleep she'd been chasing for so long, a little content grin still drawn on her lips.

* * *

"Emma, love, please. You need to eat something." Killian almost pleaded, hand and hook placed on his wife's shoulders. "It's for the baby, aye?"

Emma shook her head, wincing at his words. She'd been sick that morning, and the simple fact of seeing her breakfast was making her want to gag. She placed a hand on her troubled stomach, trying to stop the nausea from getting even stronger. She was well aware that trying to eat something was useless. She would throw up again, and it was only going to exhaust her even more. She just couldn't take these sicknesses anymore. They seemed more violent than ever, and even the tea didn't seem to work to fight against them.

Her craving in the middle of the night one week earlier seemed so far away, now. It'd been the last time she'd eaten a real meal. Everything had made her sick ever since, and the only things she felt like she would have been able to ingest were weird and almost impossible to find. Killian was so worried about her, and didn't know what to do to help her feel better anymore. He leaned to press a kiss on her forehead when he saw how pale she was, and continued in a soft voice.

"Don't you want something else? Anything, I'll go get it for you, I promise."

She shook her head at that and said, looking up at him with her lower lip quivering as she was feeling like she was going to start crying again. "I'm so sorry."

That week had been an emotional one to say the least, and she could go from laughter to tears in the span of a few seconds. Despite everything she'd been through in her life, she'd never had the habit of crying very often, but she felt like she couldn't stop weeping now. Every little thing was setting her off, and it was frustrating beyond words. Luckily, Killian was always there to comfort her, and he would take her in his arms and whisper to her ear that everything was going to be okay. That's what he did once again, and he kissed her temple before saying in a low voice.

"Don't apologize, darling, it's not your fault. You're the one suffering from this, and I'm sorry about that. I'm just worried, because I want you and the little one to be healthy and happy, aye? I'd like to help you, lass. Please, tell me what I can do."

She knew that seeing her being so sick because of the fact that she was carrying their child was driving him crazy. So he was doing everything in his power to make her feel better, answering every single one of her wishes without her having to ask him for anything, offering her massages when she was tense and having all these little sweet gestures to remind her that he loved her. This was helping her more than she could ever have expressed it, because despite the situation, she was so thankful to have all these wonderful people in her life to help her get through this.

He continued as she was sniffing discreetly, insisting gently. "Are you sure that there isn't something that you want for breakfast? Whatever it is, I can promise you that you'll have it. But you really need to eat something, my love. It's been days since you've had a real meal and the little one needs you to stay healthy, you know?"

Emma forced herself to think about his request for a while, trying to find something that didn't make her want to throw up just by picturing it. Killian was right and she knew it. Their little one needed her to eat, because she was getting weaker and this couldn't happen. She just wanted it to be strong and healthy, and she needed to force herself and try again. It was for their child's sake.

She finally frowned when she realized that there was one thing that seemed appealing, because her choice was surprising to say the least. "There is something, but I'm not sure that we can find it in the castle. It's going to sound like a betrayal if we ask that to anyone here."

"Tell me." He encouraged her, looking a bit intrigued by her statement and pulling away to look into her eyes.

After a little hesitation, she made a face and finally admitted. "This baby is going to drive me nuts, Killian. You know what I want? Apples. Like, a lot of them. And I hate apples. But this isn't the worst. How am I supposed to tell my mom that I want a fruit that almost killed her, because it'd been poisoned by her greatest enemy, who now wants to murder us all once again? I'm not sure that my parents are going to like that idea very much."

Killian smiled at that, but he didn't seem as worried as she was by this unexpected desire. She knew that it was perfectly normal for pregnant women to crave weird things, but this really didn't seem like a really good plan given her family's history, and even if she knew that no one would actually judge her, she didn't want to bring back bad memories or risk hurting Snow by asking for such a thing.

Her husband looked out the window of their living room, as if he were thinking about something important. It was still early, the sun had just started to rise in the sky and their surroundings were colored in a pretty mix of pink and orange. Emma had been awakened by a brutal sickness as it was still dark outside, and Killian had been trying to make her eat something ever since. His fingers came up to absently play with a strand of her hair, and he finally smiled at her to say.

"You're right when you say that apples probably don't have their place in the kitchens of the castle, but I'm pretty sure that you're worrying too much, darling. Everyone will understand that it's for the baby. If you don't want to ask someone for it though, I can go out in town myself and find some on the market, what do you say?"

"I say that it's sweet, but I don't really want you to go." She answered shyly, because she really wanted to keep him close and it made him smile.

"I'll only be gone for a little while, love. And I really want to help you feel better. That's the least I can do for you and the wee one, aye?"

"I'm coming with you, then." She decided, but he shook his head and replied.

"I don't think that this is a very good idea, lass. You've barely slept at all, and you need to get some more rest. I promise that it won't take long. You can try to fall back asleep while I'm gone, and I'll be back in no time."

She sighed and placed herself on her tiptoe, taking his face in between her hands and sweetly kissing his lips. She knew that he was right, and that given how bad she was feeling, going out wasn't a very good plan. And she was so grateful that he was ready to do anything for her to feel better. He was willing to go out at the crack of dawn to satisfy her craving, and she felt like she was so lucky to have him. He kissed her back, smiling against her, and she whispered when they pulled away.

"I love you. You're prefect."

"I love you, too, Swan. And you deserve everything in the world. I'm just trying to give it to you."

"You are." She smiled slightly. "Just be careful while you're out there, okay?"

"Promise, love." He said, pecking her lips one last time. "I'll be right back."

And after one last wink, he crossed the door of their apartment and she watched him disappear into the hallway.

* * *

Everything changed after that.

Emma decided to listen to her husband and go get some sleep, because she really was exhausted. She'd been convinced that she wouldn't manage to close her eyes without Killian by her side, but she still slipped into a half sleep, traveling into realms of strange dreams that didn't make any kind of sense.

She probably stayed a while like that, because she was awakened by the sounds of her husband coming back home, and she realized by looking out the window that the sun was already high in the sky. Still a bit sleepy, she didn't find it strange that he'd taken so long to go get these apples. There shouldn't have been a lot of people at the market at this early hour of the day, but she was too tired to realize that just yet. So she just stretched and went to greet Killian, feeling already so much better than she had that morning.

However, as soon as she stepped into the kitchen, she could tell that something was off. Killian smiled at her, but it didn't reach his eyes and he seemed distant, as if he weren't really there with her. He didn't approach her for his usual hug, so she did it instead, wrapping her arms around him and pressing a little kiss to his cheek. He only embraced her back briefly, almost pushing her away, and she felt her heart sinking into her chest because she could already feel that something was very wrong.

Frowning, she asked, just wanting to make sure that he was alright. "Hey, you okay?"

"Of course." He answered in a deep voice that seemed much less warm and welcoming than usual, what only made her blink in surprise. "I found what you wanted." He continued before she could ask anything else. "Try to eat this time, aye?"

She didn't know if she was just being paranoid, but his words resembled more an order than an actual question. This wasn't like him at all, and she wondered what was going through his mind for him to behave so strangely. She was scared for a second that she'd done or said something to anger him, but she was pretty sure that he would have told her himself if it'd been the case. Communication was the key in their relationship, but she felt like he was hiding something from her and she just couldn't tell what this was all about.

She didn't dare to ask anything though, thinking that he would talk to her when he would be ready. She then went to settle at the table, lost in her dark thoughts as she was watching him cleaning the apples he'd just brought for her to eat. Sitting cross-legged, she couldn't help but notice that he didn't turn from his task once to look at her or try to chat a little bit. He seemed so far away, in another world almost, and a strange feeling settled in the pit of her stomach, making her nauseous all over again. Something was definitely wrong, and she just wanted to know what it was.

He was done a few moments later and he just handed her the meal, the apples peeled and cut in small pieces. The sweet intention made her feel like maybe she was wrong and she was just worrying over nothing. If he'd taken the time to do this, everything had to be okay between them. But when she looked up to thank him, she realized that he'd already turned away from her and was now walking toward their room. A bit shyly, just wanting to understand what was going on, she asked.

"Where are you going?"

"I'll go get some rest." He said without looking at her.

"Oh." She replied, without managing to stop herself from sounding disappointed. "I thought that you were going to stay with me."

"I'm just tired."

"Are we okay?" She then asked, because she really was more and more confused about the situation. "Did I do something wrong?"

"You just woke me up in the middle of the night, hence why I'm exhausted now." He said a bit coldly.

And he entered the room without waiting for an answer, closing the door behind him and obviously meaning that he didn't want to talk anymore. His last words seemed to ring into the empty space he'd left behind him, hurtful and so not like him. Emma was too surprised to be angry or upset, though. She just didn't get why he was acting so strangely all of the sudden or why he was being so distant. His last sentence wasn't making any sense, because he'd spent a long time trying to convince her that she didn't have to be sorry for accidentally waking him up that same morning, and that he just wanted her to be okay. This was odd, and not knowing what this was all about was almost frightening.

Her stomach was in knots, and her appetite was now nowhere to be found.

She didn't want him to have gone all the way to the market for her not to eat anything though, so she forced herself to ingest at least half of her breakfast. She tried to convince herself that he was just tired and that when he would wake up later, he would tell her what was wrong and everything would be okay between them again. He had the right to be in a bad mood from time to time too, and she was probably worrying for nothing. She just had to wait for it to get better.

She stood back up after a while, not knowing if she should have entered the room and snuggled against him to apologize for something she wasn't sure she'd done. She however quickly gave up on this idea, because there had to be a reason why he'd gone to isolate himself and hadn't offered her to come with him. He wanted to be alone, and she was going to give him just that, because maybe things would get better afterward. This behavior was so not like him, but she didn't have to worry either. Things would end up being okay again, she knew it.

She then walked to Henry's room instead, knocking on the door and guessing that her son was probably already awake, and that he was just enjoying the quiet the morning was providing. He immediately told her to come in, and she entered to find him still wrapped up in his blankets, his eyes swollen with sleep. It made her smile, and she approached him to press a little kiss to the top of his head. He was growing up, but he was still a little boy in many ways, and she was happy to see that he still didn't mind her coming to join him for a protective embrace. These mornings with him had always been one of her favorite things in the world, and she was just glad to see that the bond they were sharing never seemed to waver.

They talked for a while there, both sitting in this bed. They chatted and laughed, and she felt so much better with her son by her side, as she was managing to convince herself that she'd just been scared for nothing, and that her little family was still as happy as ever. She loved them all so much, and she only wanted for them to be alright. And seeing her little boy smiling so big was telling her that she wasn't doing such a bad job at it.

When they finally decided to move a long while later to go to the living room, she was surprised to see that Killian was still locked up in their bedroom. She frowned at that, but was careful not to show her concern to Henry, simply telling him that his father was tired and was getting some more rest. The hours then passed without her husband showing himself, and she would have wanted to enjoy these moments with her son, but she was still deeply worried about what was truly going on. She just hoped that he was okay, and that he would finally confide in her when he would feel like it.

When Killian left the bedroom at last in the middle of the afternoon, he however didn't seem in a better mood. He did come to press a kiss to the top of Henry's head, looking like his usual self with him, but he didn't even acknowledge her presence in the room. He just mumbled that he was going outside for a bit without offering them to come with him, and he left the apartment without looking back at his family.

Emma was feeling like the man who had just left wasn't her husband at all, and she looked at the door, confused for a moment. This was so unusual, she didn't know what to think about it. He would never get mad at her like that, especially not for something that wasn't her fault like waking him up because of her sickness. And he had barely ever left her side ever since he'd learned that she was pregnant, wanting to be with her and the baby at all time. He wasn't making any sense, and it was beginning to make her really anxious.

"Did you guys fight about something?" Henry asked, drawing her away from her thoughts and obviously finding his dad's reaction very weird too.

"No, and that's what's strange." She sighed, before forcing a smile so her son wouldn't get too worried. "Maybe he isn't feeling well or something. I'm sure there's an explanation for all of this."

Her words seemed to reassure Henry, but she didn't really believe in them. Killian had always been so caring with her and something was feeling really wrong about his behavior, like he wasn't completely himself. The knots in her stomach were telling her that something was going on, and she tried to shake off the feeling and relax. She couldn't do anything about it now, and she had to stay calm, for the baby's sake. So she focused on her little boy instead, trying to ignore her instincts that were telling her that she was about to face yet another hardship.

* * *

After a few days, she had to unfortunately admit that her intuition had been right at first. What was happening was more important than just a temporary bad mood. Yet, she'd tried everything to make things go back to normal. She'd left Killian all the space he'd asked for that afternoon during which everything had seemed to change. She hadn't asked him a thing, she hadn't come to look for him when he'd spent hours outside, and she'd just hoped that everything was going to be okay. Maybe he just needed to be alone for a bit.

That day, he'd come back into their apartment late into the night, as Henry had already fallen asleep. He'd come to find her in their room and, without a word, he'd knelt on the bed and had started to kiss her. They hadn't said anything to each other that night, he hadn't told her that he loved her like he would usually have done. Their moment had been rough, almost violent and anything but tender, as if he were almost desperate to get together with her. But she'd told herself that everything really was alright when they'd fallen asleep in each other's arms, and the knots in her stomach had seemed to finally disappear.

But she'd been wrong.

Killian had continued to behave a little bit more strangely with each passing day. He was barely even talking to her anymore, being cold and distant, and she felt like he was slipping through her fingers. He seemed so far away while being right by her side, it was absolutely infuriating. He would only answer her dryly, never taking her in his arms or telling her that he loved her anymore. And when she was sick, because she was worried and upset to see him like that, he was never there to reassure her. He'd promised her that he wasn't going to leave her, but that was what he was doing now in some way, and she had no idea of why all of this was happening.

It couldn't be simply because she had woken him up that morning during which everything had crumbled, because it wasn't making any sense. He couldn't stay mad at her for something as stupid as that. And yet it was like she didn't even exist anymore. He was still normal with Henry, and it was reassuring her because at least her son didn't have to suffer from this very confusing situation, but she just couldn't understand what was going on, and she wanted to scream sometimes.

The only moments during which he seemed a little bit like himself, tender and loving and making her think that maybe he still loved her after all, were during the nights. There, as they were making love, he would look at her like she was an angel once again, his eyes shining in a strange way. He would never talk though, never exchange words or smiles, and would fall asleep on his own when the embrace was over. He wouldn't even place his hand on her stomach to talk to the baby anymore, as if he didn't care about their child to be. She felt like he was another man entirely. And the worst about that was that he seemed to be suffering too, she could read it in his gaze, but he just wouldn't talk to her about it.

She was feeling like she was turning slowly insane. She just wanted to know if all of this was her fault, because it had to be somehow, or he wouldn't act like this with her. She'd probably hurt him, and yet she'd already replayed the moments they'd shared that morning hundreds of times in her head and couldn't find anything that could have triggered that kind of reaction.

She'd tried to ask him if he wanted to talk to her, but he would always reply that he was fine and that nothing at all was going on. And when he wasn't ignoring her, he could be almost mean sometimes. The kind, sweet man he'd once been seemed long forgotten as he would tell her things that he knew were going to hurt her and make her feel worthless. Every time something of the sort happened, he would look completely appalled by his own words for an instant and seemed almost about to cry, but he would never apologize either. This wasn't like them at all, he wasn't the man she'd married and it was horrifying to witness this situation without being able to do anything to fix it.

She was feeling so sad all the time. The exhaustion of the pregnancy was only accentuated by his behavior, and she felt like he didn't love her anymore. She felt unwanted and unloved, and like he didn't even care about the fact that she was pregnant with his child. Her old scars were slowly reopening as she was feeling like he was abandoning her, even if he was still there physically. Just like Neal had done. Just like everyone in her life before him.

She'd never been enough for anyone after all, and it was probably starting to be the case for him too. He could be realizing that he didn't love her and that their marriage was a mistake. He was going to leave too, and she would be alone again. She felt like it was all her fault. There had to be a reason why she always found herself in this situation. Because she hadn't been able to give him what he deserved, and now she was slowly losing him without being able to do anything to hold him back.

She knew that these thoughts weren't right, that it was just the sadness talking, but she just couldn't help but feel so down. She would lock herself in the bathroom sometimes at night, so she could sob in peace, curled up on the floor and wondering what she'd done wrong. She felt like she was going to have to raise this little baby by herself once again, without the man she loved by her side. Alone, as always, because no one was ever staying with her.

She was still trying to think about other things and continue to live her life. She wasn't talking to anyone about Killian's strange behavior, even if everyone in the castle had noticed that something was wrong. But they however seemed to have chosen not to say anything about it, and she was truly grateful for it because she didn't even know what to say to explain this situation.

It wasn't unusual for her to find herself in tears in her mother's arms, as Snow was whispering to her ear that everything was going to be okay. She'd heard David cursing under his breath several times and vaguely threatening to punch something if his son-in-law didn't pull himself together soon, but even after he'd gone to talk with him a little bit, nothing at all had changed. Henry was starting to wonder what was wrong with his father as well, even if he was still his usual self with him. And she just wanted for all of this to finally be over.

A week passed like that, but it seemed like an eternity to her as everything seemed gray and tasteless. She was sad all the time, wondering even at night what she'd done and why he didn't love her anymore. One afternoon, seeing that she was getting worse, Kate and Chiara offered her to take a walk in the gardens as it was nice outside, and she accepted without a hesitation. She really needed this distraction, to feel like she hadn't lost everything after all.

Killian had left that morning without even saying a word to her, and Henry then stayed with her parents in the library as she was going to join her friends near the castle entrance. It was still as hot outside, but she didn't even seem to feel it anymore. Not managing to force a smile, she just got ready and hoped that this little walk would finally allow her to think about something else.

Her friends greeted her with a warm hug when she arrived, immediately making her feel just a little bit better. It reminded her that even though the man she loved was pushing her away, even if she was unhappy right now, she would never be all alone in the world again. She had parents who loved her, wonderful friends everywhere in the castle and a son she adored beyond words, as well as this little bean that was still growing in her belly. She just had to hold onto that and not lose all hope that she could be happy some day. She was strong, and she could do this.

It truly felt like things with Killian would never be the same again, though. The night before, he'd rolled away from her after they'd had sex, and had fallen asleep without even wishing her a good night. And there was still this spark of distress in his eyes, like he was going to burst out crying or start yelling at any given moment. She didn't know why he seemed to suffer so much, but when he was asleep, at least he looked peaceful. Gently, trying not to wake him up, she'd stroked his cheek and had whispered to the quiet surrounding them.

"What's happening to us?"

She had to stay strong and healthy, though, because she wasn't alone anymore. The little one that was living inside of her needed her to be okay, and she had to sleep and eat, and just live so it would stay alright. She would be just fine, for the baby, for Henry, for her parents and everyone who loved her. She didn't have a choice anyway.

The walk with her friends started in a good mood. She was actually glad to be there with them and feel surrounded, and she chatted normally as they were moving in between the paths of the gardens. It was nice to feel like everything was normal again, even if it was only for a little while. The topic of her pregnancy quickly made its way to their conversation, and Kate asked with a kind smile.

"How is it going by the way? How's the little one doing in there?"

The kind of amazing unconcern that she'd experienced for a few wonderful minutes left Emma at once, and she was suddenly sick of pretending that everything was okay. She just wanted to cry, and she couldn't hold everything back anymore. She also knew that her friends wouldn't judge her and would be there for her, no matter what. She could trust them with her feelings, and she then stopped walking to say with tears in her eyes.

"I think it's okay. I don't really know. Everything is so complicated right now, it feels like everything is collapsing and I can't do anything to stop it."

"It's about Killian, isn't it?" Chiara guessed, looking truly touched by Emma's confession.

The softness of her voice was too much for her, and she couldn't hold her tears back anymore. She didn't really want to anyway, she was just so tired of this, so she finally let them fall and her shoulders started to shake under the strength of her sobs. Her friends immediately wrapped their arms around her to hold her close, and it already made her feel so much better to have them by her side during such a hard time. She didn't read any pity in their eyes, just an endless kindness, and she just knew that she could talk to them.

Finally, as her sobs had calmed down a bit, she stuttered to explain herself. "I don't know what's happening to us. It's like I don't even exist for him anymore, and everything changed so suddenly. I'm scared that… he's realized he didn't want me or our child anymore. I can't help but think that these news of my pregnancy finally made him see the truth, and he just doesn't love me the way I love him."

"Emma." Kate said very gently, looking straight into her eyes. "I know that he's behaving strangely and that it's hard, but I'm sure that this is not what's happening. He adores you, that's obvious in everything that he does. He promised to never let you down, and I'm pretty sure that he doesn't intend to break this."

"These are just words." Emma said, wiping off the tears from her face. "And it was before. Now, it feels like he just can't stand to even look at me."

"Did you try to talk to him about it?" Chiara asked, frowning in confusion. "Maybe you can just discuss this, and it'll help. Perhaps it's just a big misunderstanding"

"I did, but he won't talk to me. It's like I'm nothing for him."

"You know, I really do think that you should try to speak to him again in that case." Kate said, and Chiara nodded to agree. "Just ask him what's wrong, until he answers. He'll be forced to tell you everything sooner or later. I know that you want to give him some time, but things can't go on that way. You're exhausted and sick, and he has to understand that he can't act like this, it's hurting you. Everything is going to be okay after that, I'm sure of it."

They hugged her once again and, when she finally stopped crying for good, they decided to continue their walk and spend the afternoon together. Emma knew that they were right, somehow. She needed to talk to her husband, because she felt like she couldn't stand this situation for much longer. Her friends' presence was reassuring, and she was determined to know what was going on, finally. She wanted to believe in what they'd told her. Killian loved her, and it couldn't change overnight. Whatever happened, it wasn't her fault and she would find a way to fix it. Everything was going to be just fine.

* * *

Killian came back late that night once again, as Henry was already in bed for a long time. The night had settled in outside and Emma felt exhausted and really wanted to sleep, but she was also determined to follow her friends' advice and have a little conversation with her husband. Things couldn't go on that way, this was toxic for everyone and she just had to know what was going on so she could find a solution to fix it. She was then sitting on the living room couch, waiting for him and her heart pounding so fast in her chest it could have exploded. Her hand was resting on her still flat stomach, as if to protect the baby from what was about to happen. She was scared, but she wasn't going to give up. She needed to do this.

She finally heard Killian silently opening the door, and she guessed that he probably thought she was asleep already. It was dark in the room as she hadn't bothered to light some candles, but the moonlight was gently coming through the window and illuminating her husband's face in a blueish, beautiful color. His expression was completely neutral as he was moving into the apartment, and she realized that he hadn't seen her there. So she stood up and approached him, saying in a low voice.

"Killian?"

He startled so hard it scared her a little bit too, and he finally turned to look at her, his hand against his chest. She wanted to apologize for taking him by surprise, but he was staring at her with wide eyes, as if he'd actually forgotten that he wasn't the only one living in this place. She waited for him to say something, feeling like it wasn't her husband who was in front of her but someone else entirely, and he finally started to talk again.

"Bloody hell, don't do that!"

His hand was still against his chest, and she found this position strange and unnatural as he was still watching her. She took a deep breath then, trying to find a way to start the conversation. Everything felt surreal around her, like she was living in a nightmare, and she really felt like something was very wrong with Killian. Nothing seemed like his usual self, even his way of moving was different, but she just couldn't tell exactly what was off. She still had to make things clear between them though, or she knew that she was going to turn crazy. So she finally looked up at him and said gently.

"I'm sorry about that, I didn't mean to. But Killian… I know I've asked you this hundreds of times already, but I want an answer tonight. What's going on with you? Why are you being so weird? It's like I don't even recognize you anymore."

"I'm fine." He said coldly, and tried to walk past her. She didn't let him do so though and stepped back before him so he wouldn't move, what made him sigh in annoyance, which was so not like him her heart tightened a little bit more.

"No, that's a lie and you know it. You're not fine at all. You can talk to me, you know. Why don't you want to tell me what's wrong? I won't judge you, you can lean on me. And what did I do for you to be so distant with me? Why are you so mad? I deserve to know!"

She'd almost screamed on the last words, all the frustration and heartbreaks of the last few days coming right back to attack her. He seemed surprised by her reaction, his hand still resting over his heart. He stared at her for a while, and she was sure that he was going to start yelling at her too, but when he finally moved, he took her by surprise again.

He stepped in her direction, cupped her cheek and kissed her almost violently. The touch of his lips against her made her dizzy, but she didn't want him to get away with his behavior that easily. And the embrace seemed strange, like he was trying to feel something. So she forced herself to pull away from him, because she knew how things were going to go if they didn't stop right away. She was well aware that if they had sex now, they wouldn't have this important conversation and things would be the exact same the next day. So she stubbornly shook her head and said in a low voice.

"No, Killian, not this time. I want to talk about this, I want to fix things between us and sex won't be able to help us this time. Please, just tell me… What did I do wrong?"

His eyes were shining strangely as he was staring at her in silence for a while. It was as if he were trying to tell her something by looking at her that way, but she just couldn't tell what it was. She read so much distress in his gaze, but his behavior was in total contradiction with what his expression was telling her, and she was so confused she felt like she couldn't breathe anymore. It was as if he were quietly screaming for her to help, to understand something. And he seemed in so much pain she just didn't know what to do.

He was breathing fast now, and he closed his eyes, as if he were trying to fight against himself. Finally, in such a deep voice it sounded nothing like him, he said. "You won't like what I'm going to tell you."

"I just want to know." She answered, and she only realized then that she was silently crying at this insane situation.

He opened his mouth, but instead of talking, he yelled out of the blue. "No! I won't!"

"What are you talking about? What's the matter?" She asked, worried beyond words now as it seemed like he was fighting against a little voice in the back of his head telling him to do something that was scaring him to death.

All of the sudden, he clutched his chest again and he stumbled like he was going to collapse. He was obviously in pain, and she rushed to him to hold him up. She had no idea of what was wrong with him, but she was truly starting to get scared about his health. He grunted but pulled away from her, as if he couldn't bear her touch. She stood there again, motionless, and simply waited for the next thing to come. At this point, there was not much left to do.

He approached her again then, sweat covering his forehead as if he were in the middle of a fight with his invisible demons. He grabbed her wrist, almost violently, and squeezed it tight. It hurt her a bit, but she felt like he was trying to tell her something with this, something that she just couldn't grasp no matter how hard she was trying to. Everything about him screamed that he was mad, but his clear blue eyes were telling another story that she couldn't understand just yet. She knew that what was going to come was going to hurt her beyond words. She could feel it in the knots in her stomach and at her heart pounding so fast against her ribs.

She should have realized that something wasn't right there, that he wasn't himself. She should have understood why his body was telling something else than his words, why his heart seemed to pain him so much, why he wasn't behaving like himself and was saying two different things at once. She should have, but she just couldn't. On that moment, she felt like the lost little girl everyone had always abandoned again, and she just wanted to scream and cry at the same time.

It seemed like he was struggling with everything that he had for an insane moment. Then, finally, he opened his mouth and said in a low voice. "I just can't do this."

She wasn't sure if he was talking to her or not, but he held her wrist a little bit tighter, so much that their linked limbs shook for a second. Then his eyes got lost somewhere above her shoulders, as if he couldn't see her anymore and had lost a fight she knew nothing about. He let go of her, turned away and she watched him getting out of the apartment and slamming the door behind him without looking back.

Everything was a blur around her. She was now crying so hard she felt like she was drowning in her own tears. He hadn't said anything, but his last words were obvious. He couldn't do this, he couldn't stay with her. He'd left, like everyone else before him. He didn't love her anymore. She hadn't been enough, once again. She never was

The pain was so strong she couldn't think about his strange behavior or try to find a reason to explain it. This wasn't Killian and she knew it deep down, but this was bringing back her lost scars and her heart was aching so hard she felt like it was breaking. She was panicking and her legs couldn't support her anymore. Without her even fully realizing it or trying to do anything to stop it, she was on her knees on the floor, trying to catch her breath but feeling like she was turning insane. She stared at the door, hoping that this was a mistake, that she hadn't understood correctly and that he was going to come back and apologize.

But he obviously didn't love her anymore. He didn't want of their future together, all these plans they'd made to be happy, and everything was crumbling. Nothing made sense anymore. She felt like without him, nothing would ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so the only thing that I can tell you is that I am not breaking captain swan, and that something is very obviously happening to Killian. What do you think it is? I'll give you a clue : I got inspiration from something that really did happen in the show. See you soon! :)


	36. Chapter 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys, here is the next chapter! I'm happy to see that you didn't seem to hate me too much after what's happened in the last one haha. I promise I ended this part with a happy ending! Thanks again for all the support, I'll never be able to tell you how much this means to me!

Emma never really knew how much time she spent crying on the floor of this apartment that had once seen her happy. It probably only lasted for a few short minutes, but it seemed like an entire lifetime to her. She didn't feel like herself anymore and nothing at all felt real. Her eyes were closed, but the floor was still moving underneath her. She felt like she was going to throw up, one hand clasped against her mouth and the other placed over her painful stomach.

Her husband had left. He obviously didn't love her anymore. And she didn't know what to do with herself or with this awful revelation.

He hadn't said anything out loud, but she finally knew what had been going for days now. He thought that she wasn't worth it, and now he was gone. She would always stay this little orphan that everyone always left behind, because she was never good enough for anyone. Maybe it was all her fault. There had to be a reason why this was always happening to her. Maybe she just didn't know how to love and people were better off without her. Perhaps she'd made him suffer without even realizing it, and this simple thought made her want to be sick with pain.

Maybe he did deserve better than her, after all.

She only looked up a long while later, when she heard steps coming in her direction. For an insane, happy second, she hoped that it was Killian, coming back to take her in his arms and apologize for the last few horrible days he'd made her go through. She prayed that he would tell her that he loved her more than anything, and that he still wanted her and their child to be. She just wanted for all of this to be a bad dream.

But when she opened her eyes, it was her son's face that she discovered leaning above her. He knelt on the floor and placed a comforting hand on her leg, looking so concerned by her tears. She would have wanted to pretend that she was okay because she had to protect him, but even that seemed impossible now. She just wanted to fall sleep and never wake up again, so she wouldn't feel this horrible pain anymore.

"Mom? Why are you crying? What's wrong? I heard screams, and I wanted to make sure that you were okay. What's going on?"

She felt like her heat was broken into a million little pieces, but she was still conscious enough to try and keep her little boy out of this mess. She absolutely refused for him to be abandoned by his own father, his role model and hero. Even if Killian didn't want her anymore, she knew that he would never leave Henry like he'd just left her. He would keep on being a dad to him, no matter what. Her son didn't deserve to be left alone like she had. She needed to protect him from knowing this pain.

So she simply shook her head, trying to calm herself down so she could actually talk. She was sobbing so hard she felt like she couldn't breathe anymore. She wiped off the tears that were streaming down her face, even if it was useless given the fact that she seemed unable to stop crying. It was giving her the illusion that she had some control over this awful situation, and she really needed this right now. She just couldn't crumble. She had to stay strong, for Henry.

She tried to smile, but didn't manage to properly do so. Her face seemed like paralyzed, and she felt like nothing would ever feel right in the world again after this. Her heart was beating so fast it was actually hurting her, and she felt like it was going to burst sooner than later. Her stomach had become a knot of pain too, feeling a bit tighter with each passing second. But she really had to pretend that she was okay. It was all for her son.

"We had a fight." She managed to say at last. "It's okay, kid. I'm just emotional. I'll be fine, I promise. Just go back to sleep, alright?"

"There's no way I'm leaving you alone while you're crying!" He protested, looking actually offended by her words. He reached for her hand to help her get back up and continued. "Come on, let's go to your room. You'll feel better lying down."

She hated the fact that her little boy was actually forced to take care of her because this wasn't his job, but she was feeling too weak to refuse his help. So she nodded, and forced herself to get back on her feet, so he wouldn't get too worried about her. His presence was helping her to stay strong in some way. He was the living proof that she wasn't such a bad person after all, because she'd raised a wonderful, amazing kid. Her son was a blessing, and she knew that whatever happened, she would always end up being okay, for him.

Her legs were shaking so hard that she stumbled and almost fell over when she tried to walk. Everything seemed blurry and dark around her and she just couldn't stop crying. With Henry's help, she still managed to get back to her room and collapsed on the bed as he was coming to snuggle beside her. She held him close, and he said after a few motr seconds of silence as she was trying to breathe and stop panicking.

"I don't know what's happening, but I'm sure that it'll be alright, you know. You and Dad already had some pretty big fights, but everything always got fixed at the end of the day. You don't have to worry about this, okay?"

"I know, kiddo." She simply said, because she just didn't want to tell him the truth. Killian had left, probably forever, and she just wanted to stop him from getting hurt.

"He loves you. He just needs to calm down, and then he'll come back." He added, trying to reassure her, but her heart only broke a little bit more at his words.

The pain in her stomach seemed to get even stronger, despite her tries to stay sane. Because her son was wrong. Killian wasn't going to come back, ever. Even if he hadn't said it out loud, his behavior just screamed that he didn't love her. And she just didn't know what to tell her son. She wanted him to keep living in this beautiful world where his parents loved each other more than anything. She just didn't want him to feel abandoned, or think that he wasn't enough.

Images of Judy's death as she was just a child, of her years spent in the streets, of Neal who had left her all alone and of Killian who was now doing the exact same were crashing inside her brain, making her want to scream. She was always getting back to the same awful, lonely place. Alone, weeping, feeling like the pain was going to kill her. No one ever wanted her. What was wrong with her? It had to be her fault, or it wouldn't always happen like that. She was probably the worst person to be around, and she was just incapable of love.

She opened her mouth to answer something to her little boy though, because she felt like the most important thing she could do right now was to reassure Henry. But she suddenly got interrupted by an awful and acute pain in her lower stomach, making her gasp in surprise. She curled up over her blankets and let go of a muffled whimper, not understanding what was happening right away. Her brain felt blurred by the sadness and the fear, and she just couldn't think anymore. She wrapped her arms around herself, but it didn't change a thing and her heart was racing so hard it felt about to explode.

"Mom? Mom!" Henry called her, looking absolutely panicked all of the sudden. "What's happening? Are you okay?"

His scream finally made her come back to reality and she felt like she was going to yell. The baby, something was very wrong with the baby. And it was bad, if she could trust her guts. The pain was strong and if she was sure of one thing, it was that she had to find a way to stop it. She just couldn't risk for her child to get hurt because of this situation. She couldn't lose it, not in addition to everything that was already happening. Damn it, she loved her little one so much already. And she had to protect it, no matter what.

"Henry." She whispered through the pain, trying to comfort her son and find a solution at the same time, because this couldn't be happening. "Please, go get your grandparents and Blue if you can find them. I need them."

"What's wrong?" He insisted, his eyes shining with pure terror.

"Your sibling needs you." She simply answere, because she didn't want him to be too scared. "Just go get someone, okay? And then we'll be fine."

This last statement seemed to make him understand that he had to hurry, and he literally jumped out of the bed to run to the door and get out of the apartment. Her little boy gone, Emma could finally stop pretending that everything was okay, and started to sob in pure panic. Her arms still over her stomach as if to protect the baby, she was trying to keep on breathing, even if it seemed like an impossible task right now. She just wanted for all of this to be over. She wanted to come back to these beautiful times, when everything was okay and she was happy with the love of her life.

The pain calmed down for an instant, allowing her to catch her breath, and she felt like maybe she was just panicking for nothing, but a new cramp came and she screamed out loud. She knew what was happening, but she just couldn't accept it. She was losing the baby. All because she hadn't managed to stay calm and keep it safe. She hated herself, because this was all her fault. But perhaps this wasn't too late. Perhaps she could still fix things.

Out of the blue, the panic left the place to a huge and endless anger that made her want to punch something. Because she was wrong, this wasn't her fault. This was all Killian's. He'd left her, while she was pregnant with their child. He should have known better, he should have protected their baby. He should never have made her feel like she was worthless. Now, because of him, old scars of her broken past she'd thought healed forever were reopening and she was losing this little baby that she already loved so much. This was all him. And if something happened to their child, she would never, ever forgive him for it.

She felt like she was drowning in her own tears, the mix of rage, pain and fear choking her. Henry came back a moment later, but she just couldn't tell how much time had passed since he'd left. He was alone though, and she was scared for a moment that he hadn't found anyone and that she was going to be forced to deal with this all alone. He came to lie back down next to her on the bed, looking into her eyes in pure fear. She asked in a muffled voice, just hoping that it wasn't too late and that everything could still be okay again.

"Did you find someone?"

"I asked for a guard to go get Grandma and Grandpa." He explained, and she could hear the tears in his voice. "I'm sorry, but I didn't want to leave you alone. You're gonna be fine, right? The two of you. I'm sure you will."

She could tell that he was trying to reassure himself, because even if she was doing her best to seem okay for him, he was a smart boy. He knew what could go wrong if she didn't get the help she needed really fast. And nothing could happen to this baby, she wouldn't let it. She was a fighter, she'd always been, but she wasn't sure that she could survive it if she lost this little one. Not after losing her husband, too. So she chose to focus on her son instead, on her little blessing that was still there beside her. She had to be okay, for him. And so she took his hand and tried not to scream too loudly when a new contraction came and made her close her eyes in pain.

Before long, steps started to ring in the hallway, announcing several people approaching. The door of their apartment slammed open, and her parents entered the room, fear obvious in their eyes. David immediately came to sit on the edge of the bed, and Snow knelt in front of her to be able to look into her eyes. She placed a hand in her hair, and said with so much softness that Emma felt like maybe she could still be alright after all.

"Everything is going to be okay, Emma. The Blue Fairy is on her way, and I'm sure that the baby is just fine." She looked around her then, frowned and added. "Where is Killian?"

She was feeling like a little girl again as she was in her mom's arms, like she could finally let go of the pain and let someone share this burden with her. Still sobbing, she then admitted. "He left."

"What do you mean, he left?" David asked, as if he just didn't want to believe in what she was telling him. "Where?"

"He left me!" She cried out, the pain too strong now for her to keep on hiding the real situation from her son, because she just couldn't do this anymore. "He's just… gone. He doesn't love me anymore. And now the baby..."

David cursed loudly at that, his voice ringing against the walls of the room and making Henry startle. He seemed to be threatening Killian under his breath, but Emma couldn't be sure of it, because everything seemed surreal. Her son was looking at her with wide eyes, learning about what had really happened for the first time. Snow seemed utterly taken aback by this for a moment, as if she had no idea of how to react to this, but she quickly pulled herself together. In such a gentle voice that Emma was sure everything really was going to be okay, she said.

"The baby is going to be just fine, Emma. It's strong, I can tell. You're not alone in this, alright? We're all here with you, we love you and we won't let anything happen to you. You just need to breathe, and everything is going to be okay. Can you do that for me, honey? In and out. Good, the little bean needs you to be calm, you know? You can do this."

Emma forced herself to focus on her mother's voice, rolling on her side so she could look at her more easily. Snow was so reassuring, she actually felt the knots in her stomach getting a little bit less tight. She followed her advice and breathed slowly, and strangely enough, it stopped her from thinking too much and she gradually started to feel better at last.

"You're doing great, honey. Keep going, you're going to be just fine." She added gently, squeezing her hand in hers as Emma was wincing because of another contraction. It seemed a bit less painful than the ones before though, and she felt like maybe her mother was right. Maybe the baby could still be okay, after all.

They spent a long time like this, Snow's voice the only thing that seemed real anymore as everyone was listening to her and Emma was doing her best to follow her instructions. When the Blue Fairy finally arrived a while later, she hadn't felt pain for a few minutes, which was highly reassuring in some way. She hadn't bled either, and she was starting to hope that her little one could still be perfectly healthy despite everything. Snow was right, it was strong. It was going to get through this.

Her friend looked pale and worried when she approached her bed. She immediately made her lie down on her back, so she could place her wand above her stomach and see if the baby was alright. Emma was terrified for a second as the room was staying quiet for a horrible instant, but soon, the now familiar sound of her child's heartbeats filled in the space. It was strong, healthy and regular, so loud that she once again felt like there were two of them. They were still fast though, too fast if she could refer to the fairy's expression. After a few minutes of silence, still worried, she then asked.

"This means that the baby's okay, right?"

"It is, for now." She nodded seriously. "But Emma, you need to calm down, and you need to rest and try to stay in bed as much as you possibly can. I won't lie to you, the baby is in danger right now. You're still quite early into the pregnancy, and what's happening is making it suffer. Miscarriages are common in these kind of cases. You have to be careful."

Emma placed her hand over her stomach at these words, as if trying to protect her little one and her heart pounding so fast in fear. It couldn't vanish like that, she wouldn't let such a thing happen. It was her job to keep it safe, and she was going to do just that. She had no other choice, anyway.

She resumed her breathing exercises, trying to think about happy things for it to be easier. But images of her fight with Killian were coming back to her, no matter how hard she tried to ignore them. How he'd left, how he'd made her feel worthless and unloved. She closed her eyes, forcing herself to think about something else. Only her child was important on this moment, not her feelings. She needed to calm down, and they would both be okay.

She still felt like these walls that Killian had spent so long trying to bring down were going right back up around her shattered heart. She just didn't want to feel anything anymore, and she had to protect herself. She needed this armor, to save her baby and stop feeling this horrible pain. She knew deep down that it wasn't the right way to deal with her new reality, but she just couldn't help it. She was aching too much.

The Blue Fairy started to talk again after a while, seeing that she was slowly calming down. "If everything goes well tonight, you should be fine by tomorrow. But you really need to rest, alright? Don't get off your bed unless you really need to, and try to relax as much as you possible. Your baby needs this. I'm going to stay here in the castle in case something happens though, okay? If anything feels wrong, don't hesitate to call me. I'll be right by your side."

Emma simply nodded, feeling like she wasn't even strong enough to talk anymore. After one last worried glance in her direction, Blue then left the room, and her family stayed silent for a little while. Finally, David ended up leaning to press a little kiss to the top of her head, what made her feel so much better, because she felt so incredibly surrounded and loved, and she had to remember that she had people to fight for. Even if it was hard to believe sometimes, she wasn't alone anymore. She was going to be okay, as always.

Snow finally said softly after a few more moments. "We're going to stay here with you tonight, alright? Just try to get some rest, you and the baby need it. We're right there if you need us. You're not alone, honey. You'll never be again."

"We love you so much, sweetheart." Her father added, saying these words that she needed to hear so badly. "Everything is going to be fine. I promise."

She was well aware that he couldn't know a thing about that. He didn't know if the baby was going to be alright, but his words did soothe her a lot. Because she wasn't alone in this, indeed. She was worthy of love, these people surrounding her as she was going through so much pain were a living proof of that. She was going to be okay, for them and for the little bean growing in her belly. She wouldn't accept anything else from this situation.

So she closed her eyes, trying to think about anything but what had happened with her husband. She couldn't do just that though, and tears were still quietly streaming down her face, but she was determined not to let this destroy her. Nothing could ever break her. She was way too strong for that.

* * *

Without much of a surprise and despite her desperate tries to stay calm, her next few hours were a total nightmare. She got sick several times, having to sprint to the bathroom in order to throw up and images of Killian and what he'd done to her mixing up with memories of him taking her in his arms and telling her that he loved her. This was all so damn painful. She woke up dozens of times with cold sweat covering her forehead and his name on her lips, feeling like her heart was broken and would never be whole again. This was awful and she just wanted it to stop.

Luckily, her family hadn't left her side and she felt like they were keeping her sane. Her parents had settled on the living room couch, and Henry was still snuggled up in her arms, seeming to watch over her to make sure that she was okay. David and Snow had tried to make her eat something, telling her that she had to get some strengths back, but the knots in her stomach were too tight and she was feeling sick. She just couldn't do this.

Their presence was a blessing though, and was allowing her to stay into reality. She knew that she wasn't alone, as she knew that what had happened probably hadn't been her fault at all. And thanks to this, even if she was still angry and heartbroken, her stomach wasn't hurting anymore. Her child was okay. She'd protected it, and that was all that truly mattered.

She was awake now, and she was looking at the sun slowly rising in the sky outside, lost in her thoughts. She was wondering how the hell she was going to do this without her husband by her side, how she was going to explain to this child that its father had left her while she was pregnant. She could tell that Killian would still want to be a part of Henry and their baby's life, even if he didn't want her anymore, but she would have wanted for her children to grow up in a world where their parents loved each other, and now it was all over. This would never happen again.

He'd promised her so many things, he'd promised to never stop loving her and he'd talked about a future that had only been a lie. Everything had crumbled, and she would have wanted to hate him for it, but she just couldn't. She was missing him already. Despite her anger, she still loved him so much. She'd given him her heart, and now he'd broken it into a million little pieces. She had no idea of what to do to stop this pain.

She just couldn't believe that she hadn't learned her lesson, and that she'd trusted the wrong person once again. She'd thought that he was the one. She'd thought that what they were sharing was true, and that he loved her for real. The way he'd once looked at her, how happy he'd been when they'd learned that they were having a baby, he was still in love with her not so long ago, even if it seemed like an eternity to her. And now that was gone all at once, and it wasn't making any sense. Especially since they were supposed to be true love, they'd broken the Dark Curse together, and this just couldn't go away overnight.

This detail that she hadn't thought about yet made her frown in confusion. She was feeling like her body wasn't hers anymore, she couldn't really feel her arms or legs because of the exhaustion and the panic and she thought for an insane second that she was actually floating. Her hands were still resting on her stomach to keep her little bean safe, and she could hear Henry's regular breathing beside her as he'd finally fallen asleep. Intrigued by her last observations, she distractedly played with her wedding band. Something was off, but she just couldn't tell what it was just yet.

Killian really had loved her, she was sure of it now, or their true love kiss wouldn't have worked in the first place. He'd still been feeling the same way when he'd learned that she was pregnant and when she'd almost died in that cold room, or he wouldn't have been that happy about the baby, or that scared about losing her. So why was it all over now? Losing such feelings couldn't just happen like that, so quickly. And she just needed to pinpoint what had made everything crumble, because she felt like it would finally allow her to understand.

Everything had changed during that damn day, when he'd gone to fetch her these apples in the market. Even though she'd woken him up by accident that night, he'd still been absolutely adorable with her before leaving. Then, when he'd come back, everything was different. What the hell had happened, that morning? What had made him change so much, all of the sudden?

Everything started to feel like too much as she was finally realizing what she should have thought about long ago. He'd stayed for a long time in the city that day, for way too long given what he'd meant to do there. And then, there were these times when they were making love and she could feel like maybe she hadn't completely lost him. The looks he would give her during these moments were in total contradiction with his words and behavior toward her, and something seemed very wrong with this entire situation.

And there was mostly this gesture that he'd had toward her before leaving the apartment without turning back. She'd felt like he was trying to tell her something by staring at her with his clear blue eyes like that, holding her wrist so tightly. It'd been as if he'd desperately tried to reach her, because he couldn't do it with words. She'd been too confused and hurt to realize it fully on the moment, but all these little things had to mean something. So she held onto that and tried to find out what was truly going on. That was the only thing left to do, anyway.

She knew one thing now, though. Killian hadn't lost his feelings for her all at once. This couldn't have happened so quickly, without a reason. Something was strange. She didn't know what yet, but she damn well intended to find out more about it.

She didn't feel sad anymore, all of the sudden. She wasn't angry or scared. Everything was gone as she was trying to think and rethink about the last week, to find a reason for all of this to have happened. She sat back up in the bed and looked at her parents, as they were both half asleep in the couch of the room. Her mother saw her move, and she immediately got up to approach her, probably wondering if everything was okay. She asked in a low voice in order not to wake Henry up.

"How are you feeling, honey? Is everything alright?"

"I need a location potion." She said hastily without answering Snow's question.

She couldn't think about anything else than going to find Killian and finally learn more about what was truly going on, now. His gestures and glances had been calls for help that she hadn't understood, but she did now and maybe it wasn't too late. And she could tell that somehow, this was all about Regina once again. She had been gone for a while now, she was planning something, and her instincts were yelling that what was happening was the Evil Queen's fault. The best way to weaken Emma was to make the people she loved suffer, and the witch knew it. This couldn't all be a coincidence. And she really needed to get to her husband and understand.

"What? Why?" Sow asked, looking deeply surprised. "What would you want to do with this?"

"I need to go find Killian." She said, feeling the panic arise in her because she could tell that he needed her and that she had to get to him, wherever he was right now.

"Oh, Emma." Her mother said, gently placing a strand of hair back behind her daughter's ear and probably thinking that she wasn't thinking clearly. "Blue told you that you had to stay in bed. And if I'm sure that Killian didn't mean to leave you like that, he did go away from the castle for a reason and it probably means that he wants to be alone for a while. But he'll come back eventually, I know it. You just need to give him time."

"But it wasn't him!" Emma cried out, because she was pretty sure that she'd finally understood what had been happening all along. "He wasn't meaning to do this, because he didn't have any control over what he was doing!"

She could finally remember what she'd learned during her magic lessons with the Blue Fairy, and this was all making so much sense, now. Back then, her friend had told her that someone very good at dark magic could steal somebody's heart in order to control that person. This had surprised her at first, because it seemed completely insane, but this was one of Regina's favorite tricks and she could easily have done it to Killian, to make her suffer and then kill him right after. There had to be a reason why he'd changed so suddenly, why he'd seemed to be in so much pain. And she had to do something about it. She couldn't let this damn witch hurt him, or any of the people she loved.

"Emma, I'm sorry but I have no idea what you're talking about." Snow said very gently, looking pretty concerned about her.

Emma sighed in frustration. She could understand her mother's reaction, but she didn't have time to explain anything. She had to go help Killian one way or another. She'd already lost too much time crying, when she could have done something to save him from whatever was happening instead. She just needed to hope that it wasn't too late now, that she could get him back and that he wasn't hurt because she hadn't seen the obvious in the situation.

David was listening to his family talking, a frown etched on his face. He seemed worried too, but she didn't pay any attention to his expression. She knew where her parents were keeping the potions, to help in case of emergencies like this one. She didn't know how to use this kind of magic, but she was sure that she could let her intuition do the hard work. Anything to get to her husband.

So, without asking herself anymore question because it was the only thing left to do anyway, she leaned to press a kiss on Henry's head as he was still sleeping in her arms. Then, without notice and not looking at her parents because she knew that they would try to stop her and she wouldn't allow that to happen, she jumped out of bed and rushed out of the room.

All that mattered to her now was getting to Killian, and she just couldn't think about anything else. She simply ran in the hallways, forgetting about the fact that she'd been told to stay off her feet. She wanted to protect her baby, she really did, but she just had to go save her husband. He needed her, and she was coming for him.

She vaguely heard her parents following her, a bit scared by her reaction. They joined her as she'd just found the location potion she'd been looking for, but she completely ignored their presence. However, as she was about to get outside, her treasure in her hand, they stood before her to stop her from getting any further.

"Emma, we told you to stay in bed, you shouldn't be here!" David said, panting a little bit from his previous race.

She barely heard him and she simply mumbled, walking past him to head for the stables. "I need to find him."

It was already hot outside when she reached the palace gates, but a pleasant breeze was cooling the atmosphere as she was moving through the gardens. She didn't even know how she was able to stand on her own two feet given how exhausted she was, but it just happened and she went to get Wave ready for the ride she was about to take to try and finally find Killian

She couldn't think about anything else than the fact she'd been so wrong to think that he didn't love her anymore. She should have known better than this. He'd promised her that he would never leave her, and he wasn't one to break his promises. Their story couldn't have been a lie since the beginning. She was going to get to him and she was going to make sure that he was safe, and they would live happily ever after. She wouldn't have it any other way.

Snow and David arrived to the stables not so long after her. They looked like they didn't know what to do about this insane situation anymore, and she could tell that they were talking, probably trying to make her change her mind, but she couldn't really hear them anymore. They wanted her to stay in bed, but she didn't have a choice, she had to go get her husband out of this trap she still knew nothing about. As she was getting on her mount, David finally seemed to understand that she was doing this no matter how hard they would try to stop her, so he said.

"Snow, stay with Henry. I'll go with Emma. I'll make sure that she's okay, I promise I won't let anything happen to her."

She didn't wait to see her mother's reaction to that, but she probably anxiously nodded at her husband, because she heard her coming back to the castle without adding a thing. Not looking at her, Emma took off the ring Killian had given her all those years ago from her neck, the one that had once been Liam's. If she didn't really know how to use this potion, she did know that she had to use an object that had once belonged to the person she wanted to find. And this ring was the perfect item, because it was the symbol of their love and their promise to always find each other, even in the darkest of times.

She let a drop of potion fall on the jewel, and watched it leaving the palm of her hand and starting to levitate a few inches above the ground. It stayed there for a second, as if looking for direction, then it started to fly to exit the property. There was no time to waste, and Emma knew it perfectly. The potion was obviously not going to wait for her, and she wasn't going to miss her chance.

David hadn't got Mist totally ready yet, but she was only vaguely aware of his presence by her side. Not thinking about him, only seeing the fact that she had to find her husband, she brought Wave to gallop and barely heard her father trying to call her back and telling her to wait. The ring was flying so fast, only a dark spot in the morning sun, and she couldn't lose it. It was her only way to make everything right again.

She knew that David was probably following her, but she didn't turn to verify it. She was going too fast for that, and she couldn't risk falling over because she needed to have all her strength to face whatever was waiting for her out there. She couldn't believe in the fact that Killian had simply left her for good anymore. She was just holding onto this little piece of hope, telling her that it was all a mistake and that he still loved her. She just couldn't lose him, not while she was pregnant, not while they had an entire future to live together. She couldn't let him slip through her fingers like that. She had to do something.

She felt like she was galloping for hours, as everything seemed unreal and foggy around her. Then, finally, the ring ended up slowing down as the wind was hitting her face and making her hair fly in her back. She jumped off her saddle without even waiting for Wave to have stopped completely, and tied the mare up to a tree so she wouldn't escape. After one last stroke to thank her for all her efforts, she then ran after the jewel that meant so much to her, feeling like this was it. She could do this. She just had to believe it strong enough.

She was in a meadow now, she noticed, lost in the middle of the woods and everything was quiet around her. Too quiet, almost. Even the birds had seemed to stop singing, as if they knew that something bad was going on. The place was surrounded by the forest, and she seemed like the only living soul around. The ring was still flying ahead of her, and she saw it finally dropping on the grass to stop its crazy race. She looked down at it, her heart beating so fast she could hear it thumping in her own ears.

She needed a second, but she finally realized that she actually wasn't alone in the clearing. She could see Killian's dark figure there, lying down on the ground and not moving one bit. She couldn't tell if he was conscious or not – gods, she hoped that he was – but at least she knew that she hadn't been wrong. Something was off. She'd let herself get manipulated, and it'd all been a lie. He hadn't left her. He really did love her.

She started running toward him, wanting to take him in her arms and protect him from whatever was happening, when she finally noticed the second figure that was there as well. She didn't need long to recognize who it was that was leaning above her husband, very obviously threatening his life. Rumpelstiltskin. His scaled skin was shining in the sun, and the moving red item he was holding in his hand left no place to any doubt.

He'd taken Killian's heart. He had been playing with them all along, and was now torturing his oldest enemy.

The Dark One hadn't noticed her presence yet, probably too busy making Killian suffer to realize what was going on around him. Emma saw her husband moving just a little bit, and felt a huge relief taking over her as she could see that it wasn't too late and that he could still be fine, after all. She wanted to take advantage of the fact that she was still invisible and take the wizard by surprise, but Rumpelstiltskin squeezed the heart of the man she loved, making him scream out in pain. She didn't think and, acting out of instincts, she yelled.

"Killian!"

The two men immediately turned to her as she was stopping a few feet from them, not sure if coming any closer was a good idea given the fact that the Dark One had the advantage. She knew that this was all a trap too, she wasn't stupid. Whoever was behind this had planned for her to come get her husband so they could hurt her too, but she was ready for a fight. She wouldn't let them do any more damage than they'd already done.

Killian rolled on his side, wincing in pain, and searched for her eyes to say in a deep, panicked voice. "Swan, no! Get out of here while you can! He's going to kill you!"

"I don't care!" She protested vehemently. "I won't leave you here!"

Now that she was closer to him, she could see the marks on his face, the blood on his cheek and the way he was curled up on the floor, as if his ribs had been broken. One of his eyes was half closed and swollen, and his brow was open, red straining his skin. She let go of a whimper of distress, one hand resting over her stomach. Seeing him hurt was making her want to throw up, and she swore that she was going to make the Dark One pay for this.

Rumpelstiltskin sneered at her words though, his voice seeming to ring into the emptiness around them. Killian's heart still in his hand, he squeezed it just a little bit more with the biggest grin on his face. Her husband groaned, but didn't scream. He was staring at her now, struggling to get up and come join her. Their enemy noticed that though, and he kicked him right in the stomach once again, making him roll back on the floor. Emma yelled at that, but the Dark One didn't seem to care and said in a tone that sent a shiver down her spine

"Well, that's a surprise. Regina and I hadn't planned for you to come all the way here. We thought that you would be too broken by what I made your dear husband do to you. We wanted to take advantage of your weakness to attack you after I was done with him, but this is even better. You're ours, now. We can do anything we want."

"I'm not your anything." Emma spat out, infuriated by his comments. "My father is on his way. He's come with an army, and you won't get away with this, that I can promise you."

"You're a very bad liar, dearie." He mocked her, what made her want to punch him in the face, but she knew better than that. It would only make things worse, and she had to keep him distracted so he wouldn't try to harm Killian. "If you allow me, I'm going to kill your husband first. I'm not going to lose this opportunity of taking the life of my oldest enemy, am I?"

"If you hurt him..." She growled, the simple thought of the man she loved suffering making her want to shout.

She felt like everything was blurry and unclear, now. Saving her husband was the only thing that truly mattered anymore, and she couldn't feel anything else than this horrible fear of losing him forever. She had to get him out of there, especially since she knew that he still loved her after all. This had all been a sick game created by the people who wanted to hurt them, and they'd almost managed to take everything from her. She was feeling so bad for panicking and for wasting time in the process. She could have saved Killian way sooner. She could have prevented him from getting tortured, and she felt awful about not managing to do so.

"And what are you going to do? Kill me? You're pregnant, dearie, and I highly doubt that you wish to lose your baby in addition to everything. Regina is going to be so happy when I'll bring you to her. She's probably planning on hurting you a little before finally killing you, though. I can already tell that it's going to be good, and I can't wait to see what she has in mind."

Emma tried to hide how surprised she was that he knew she was expecting, because they hadn't told anyone about the baby yet. Still, this man was the most powerful wizard in all the realms, and he obviously knew a lot of things. She should have expected this to happen. "Why are you working for her, anyway?" She then said to win some more time. "Why are you allowing her tell you what to do?"

"No one commands me, Savior. She's just giving me the opportunity to finally kill the bastard who stole my wife. Right, _Hook_?" He said to Killian, who was lying down now, too exhausted to sit up and seeming to fight against himself in order to keep his eyes open. "I have something to win in this, dearie. I'm not doing this out of the goodness of my heart."

"Emma..." Killian then whispered very weakly, and her heart tightened at the tone of his voice. "My love, please go. I don't want anything to happen to you. Save yourself, darling. I'm so sorry for what happened. I love you, more than anything, forever and always. But you have to run, now. You can't let him hurt you."

"Never." She protested, shaking her head. "I won't leave you, Killian."

He growled at that, but he seemed to realize that trying to make her change her mind was useless. The Dark One burst out laughing at their conversation, what made Emma want to make him disappear forever so he would never be able to hurt anyone ever again. He seemed to find them so amusing, but he also looked like he'd had enough of this conversation. So he squeezed Killian's heart a little bit tighter, obviously ready to crush it for good. Wanting to do anything to stop this from happening, Emma took another step forward, feeling like she couldn't breathe anymore and ready to give her own life to save her husband's.

Rumpelstiltskin lost his focus for a second in order to look at her, and he grinned, making her shiver uncomfortably once again. "How sweet is this? What a joy you're giving me, to be able to kill your dear husband right in front of you. This is even better than making you believe he doesn't love you anymore."

His smile widened a little bit more, and Killian screamed in pain when the wizard's fingers tightened around his beating heart yet another time. Emma yelled too, and saw her husband falling unconscious on the ground without being able to do anything to help him. She looked at his heart, still in their enemy's hand, and was relieved to see that it was still whole. For now, because she had to act fast if she wanted to protect him. She just had to think about something. She knew that she could do this.

She then forced herself to stay calm, trying to ignore what was happening around her so she could concentrate. She felt this little familiar sun blooming in the pit of her stomach, and realized that her magic really did seem stronger now that she was pregnant. She could definitely use that. She then let it grow and grow until it felt bigger than anything in the world, and the Dark One only avoided the white magic she was throwing at him by quickly jumping back, as she'd finally let her powers out.

Distracted by her decision to act, he let go of Killian's heart and it fell on the ground, deep red against the green grass. Her husband was still passed out, but at least he was safe for now. She just had to keep on fighting, and Rumpelstiltskin wouldn't be able to hurt him ever again.

The wizard turned to her, growling in rage. His eyes were as dark as the night, and she suddenly felt like he really was the source of all evil. He seemed to have forgotten all about Killian though, and this was a good thing. She'd been meaning for this to happen, so she looked straight into his eyes to try and provoke him. She didn't know what was going to be her next move, she didn't have a plan, but she was going to fix this. To save her husband, she was pretty sure that she could do anything.

"You idiot!" He shouted, shaking his head in a mix of disbelief and anger. "I wouldn't have hurt you if you'd kept still, but now I'm forced to do something. I can't let you get away with this, can I?"

He took a step toward her, but she guessed what he was planning to do before he could summon his powers. So she focused on her own magic, finding it so easy to reach it now given the situation she was in, and an invisible bubble appeared all around her to protect her from any attacks. She could feel that it was almost unbreakable, and she couldn't hep a small sigh of relief.

The spell the Dark One had prepared to knock her out, came to crash against her protective wall and she could feel the violence of the blow into her own guts. She managed to stay on her feet though, and just scowled at her enemy. She was feeling stronger than ever on that moment, and she knew that she would get out of this unharmed. She could do anything.

Rumpelstiltskin let go of a furious curse and approached her with a few big steps, throwing spells that seemed to get stronger and stronger in her direction. She was terrified, she knew what he could do to her, but she didn't let the panic take over her either. She really needed to stay focused, no matter what, because she had to get Killian out of there.

The wizard suddenly changed his strategy when he saw that his plan was obviously not working, disappearing and appearing in her back, trying to distract her and take her by surprise. He was exhausting her and expecting to find a way to break her shield, but she just kept it even stronger than before, even if she felt like it was one of the hardest things she'd ever had to do. He wouldn't reach her, she wouldn't let him do so. And he'd forgotten all about Killian, thanks to her plan. That was all that truly mattered.

She was still well aware that she couldn't keep on defending herself forever, though. She needed to attack sooner than later, or she was going to exhaust herself and wouldn't be able to keep on fighting. And there was no way she would ever give this creature what he truly wanted. So she drew into her last strengths, not even feeling how tired she was anymore. She just had to do this, and then she knew that her family and everyone that she loved would finally be okay.

She felt like the sun that was still growing inside of her was stronger than it'd ever been before. It seemed to invade her completely, every single cells of her body irradiating this beautiful and amazing light, and she was surprised by the power of her own magic for a second. She knew that the little one she was carrying inside of her was helping her with this, she could feel it. It was making her stronger than ever before, and she was feeling so powerful that she was actually a bit dizzy with it.

She let the shield break for a second, and saw the Dark One smiling in victory, thinking that he'd won. But he was so wrong, and she actually grinned back at him at this thought. She didn't give him the time to do anything to her. A white, blinding light suddenly invaded the meadow, forcing her to close her eyes at how clear it was. The magic that was coming out of her was making her feel like she could do absolutely anything. The sounds weren't reaching her anymore, and the only things that existed were these incredible powers that she had inside of her and that were going to be able to save them all. She thought she heard a scream, but she couldn't be sure of it. And then everything stopped.

When she opened her eyes again, the world seemed to have gone back to normal. And yet, the Dark One wasn't there anymore. She spun on herself to make sure that he really had disappeared, because it seemed so unreal. But the meadow was peaceful, and if Emma had no idea of where she'd sent him, she was absolutely sure that this was all because of her. She'd wished for him to go away and he had, but she wasn't able to control her powers enough yet to be able to know where he'd landed. That was a pity, she thought absently. She could have sent him in the dungeon of the castle, and would never have had to worry about him hurting anyone ever again.

She chose not to think about this anymore, though. Killian was still lying unconscious on the floor, and suddenly the only thing that mattered anymore was him and making sure that he was okay. She fell on her knees by his side, and let go of a whimper of distress when she saw how bad he was actually looking. He was hurt, bleeding, but she was relieved to see that he was still breathing regularly. At least he wasn't in a mortal danger. She just had to make sure that no one would never be able to hurt him ever again, now.

She gently took his heart in between her hands, wondering how she was supposed to do this and put it back in its rightful place. She'd never used that kind of magic before, and she really didn't want to risk hurting him more than he already was. She then took the time to calm down a bit before doing anything, because she couldn't make any mistake. And so she did the first thing that came to her mind, the first thing she was sure she could do correctly. She just had to do this, to convince herself that he really was alright and that she wasn't losing him and would never have to be away from him again.

She gently ran her hand a few inches above his face, then followed his entire body, letting her powers do their job and heal every single one of his wounds. When she was done, a few seconds later, his injuries had disappeared and he finally looked like his usual self again. He even almost seemed asleep instead of passed out from the pain. And it gave her the strength to took the next step in this difficult process and bring him back to life at last.

She took a deep breath then, and chose not to think too much about what she was doing and let her instincts do the trick. She placed his beating heart over his chest, and watched it disappear inside at once to finally wake Killian up. There was a second of endless silence as her husband was staying still, then he opened his eyes and gasped a few times to catch his breath, blinking furiously as if he couldn't believe that he really was alive. His eyes fell on her immediately, and he looked at her with so much love that her own heart skipped a beat. Because she truly hadn't lost him. He really was there with her, still and forever.

She got back on her feet, wanting to reach for his hand and help him get back up as well. She didn't know what was going to happen between them now, after everything they'd been through, but she really just wanted to feel him close. Tears of relief were streaming down her face, and a little sob shook her shoulder as she was looking at him. He was alive, and he still loved her. They hadn't lost each other. She knew that she should have said something, because this was a very important moment for the both of them, but she was weeping too much for that and she just hoped that he understood everything that she just couldn't say out loud.

He didn't give her the time to say anything, anyway. He rose on his knees in order to face her, as if nothing had happened and he'd always been fine, and not just about to literally die. Without notice, he wrapped both his arms around her waist, his forehead resting on her stomach. He pressed little kisses there, what made her sob a bit harder, and she ran her fingers through his hair to hold him even closer. He was crying too, she could feel it, and she never wanted to let him go ever again as this moment seemed bigger than anything else in the entire world.

Finally, after a long while, he started to talk again, his words muffled by his tears. He was still kissing her belly, as if to prove her that he really was there and would never go away again. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, my love, I tried to fight against it but it was just too strong. He tried to make me tell you horrible things, so I had to leave, so I didn't hurt you even more. I'm sorry I wasn't able to protect you. I… I love you so much, Emma. More than anything in the entire universe. And I'm so sorry for leaving you when I promised you that I would never do such a thing."

"It wasn't your fault." She whispered in a raspy voice with the feeling that she was actually going to drown in her own tears.

But she wasn't weeping from sadness anymore. It was all from the huge relief she was experiencing. He hadn't abandoned her, he loved her, for real. Their relationship hadn't been based on lies, and he wasn't going to leave her, ever. They were going to raise their children together, and they would finally find this happiness that they'd been chasing for so long. She had him back, and he was safe. And if she knew that her heart would need time to heal after all of this, because it had been broken yet another time, they were going to make it together. As always. She could feel it at the way he was holding onto her waist, as if he never wanted to be away from her again. And he wouldn't have to. Because their love would always be stronger than anything else in the entire world.

After a very long time, he pulled away from her to look up into her eyes. Tears were still rolling down her face, and it seemed to pain him beyond words. She then let herself fall on her knees in front of him, and she wrapped her arms around his neck as he was burying his face in her tangled hair. They breathed each other in, feeling like they were the only things existing in the world anymore, and they cried like this for a while because they just needed to feel the other close. And during this entire time, he didn't stop whispering to her ear that he loved her.

"I'm so sorry." He repeated, his fingers playing in her back in gentle strokes that were finally managing to soothe her. "I will never leave you again, Emma. You're the most amazing person that I know. I love you. I love you. Gods, I love you so much."

"It wasn't you." She said once again, her voice broken by her sobs. "Please, don't apologize. You've never meant for any of this to happen."

"I want you, for the rest of eternity. I want to raise Henry and this little one with you, and I'm sorry that you thought I didn't, even for a second. I just want you to be happy. Forever and always, and I will dedicate my life to make sure of it."

"You're here now." She murmured against him. "It's all that truly matters."

He pulled away once again to look at her, his hand coming to tenderly cup her cheek. Then his lips found hers and he kissed her, passionately and sweetly all at the same time. He whispered his love to her again and again, and she felt like the world was beginning to work again as she was kissing him back. Everything made sense now that she was in his arms and, slowly, her tears began to fade away. Things were okay. They were back together and they were fine. Finally.

Killian kept his left arm wrapped around her to keep her close, but he leaned to pick up a little item that was lying on the ground at their feet. She needed a second to understand that he'd actually found the ring, the one that he'd given her so long ago, that was the symbol of their love and that had showed her the way to come and save him. He smiled vaguely as he was looking down at it for a second, and she sniffed discreetly and said.

"It brought me back to you."

His smile widened just a little bit at that, because this simple jewel had always managed to bring them back together when they were forced to be apart, and it hadn't failed them this time either. Very gently, he placed the chain back around her neck, redoing this gesture that he'd had for her all those years ago, when they both had no idea of what the future had in store for them. He then placed his hand on her chest, right where the ring was falling, and he whispered.

"As long as you wear it with you, it'll always bring you back to me. Because I will never, ever leave you. That's a promise."

She smiled through her tears, and he stroked her cheek, sweetly putting back one strand hair behind her ear. They looked at each other for a while, the moment too strong for them to put words on it because they were realizing that nothing was broken, and that they could still live happily ever after. He kissed her forehead then, and she closed her eyes, the gesture so tender that it made her heart stutter. Then he reached out his hand for her to take, so she could get back on her feet. His wounds were only memories now, and her magic really had worked miracles. The only things left to heal were the scars of their hearts, but they were going to do this together. Always together.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, his arm wrapping around her waist again once she was back on her feet, and his hand coming to rest over her stomach, like he would always do it before this entire mess had started.

"Me? Are you really asking me this question?" She replied, laughing slightly at his words. "You're the one who's had his heart taken away, and has almost died. I'm sorry, by the way, I really am. If I hadn't had these stupid cravings and you hadn't been forced to go out to get me these damn apples, Rumpelstiltskin would never have gotten you. I feel like this is all my fault..."

He cut her off with a kiss, and placed his forehead against hers, looking at her so lovingly she felt like she'd just brought him the moon without knowing it. Everything was back to normal, as if the past week had all been a simple nightmare. She was feeling like she was floating above the ground, at how surreal this all seemed. She hadn't lost her happy ending, after all. Her life was only beginning, and it really was going to be amazing and full of laughter, she could tell. They all deserved it so much after everything they'd been through.

"Swan, please don't apologize." He said very gently. "This isn't your fault. I should have been more careful. He attacked me as I was coming back to the castle, and I was unable to do anything to stop him. He took my heart, and promised me to make you suffer. I should have found a way to stop it, but he was just too strong. I could only get away from him when I was in your arms at night. It felt like he wasn't there, and I was finally myself again. I'm the one who's sorry. I should have fought harder."

"Don't be." She said with a very small smile. "Fighting against this kind of magic is almost impossible, and you still managed to get though me somehow. I'm not mad at you, you had nothing to do with what's happened. I just… I thought that you didn't love me anymore. I thought that it was over, and..."

"Never, my love." he interrupted her, pressing another kiss to her forehead. "I love you, Emma. It will never, ever change."

"I know it now." She replied, and it wasn't a lie.

"You didn't answer my question, though. How are you feeling?" He added softly.

"I'm fine." She said, not telling him about what had happened during the night, because she knew that he was already feeling so guilty about everything that had occurred in the past week, and she didn't want to make things even worse. "I'm just glad that you're here."

"And I won't ever leave again. Let's just go home now, darling. We both need it."

He interlaced his fingers with hers, and he gently led her to move across the meadow and go join Wave, who was still patiently waiting for Emma to return. She squeezed his hand tight on the way, as if she were scared that he was going to disappear again. The simple fact of sensing him close was making her feel like everything was really going to be okay again. They were together, they loved each other, and this would never change. She would never allow herself to doubt the strength of their feelings ever again.

Her father was still there, standing next to Mist and looking particularly worried. He seemed deeply relieved when he saw them approaching him, and Emma guessed that he'd simply wanted to give them some privacy when he'd seen them holding onto each other there in the grass. They quickly explained to him what had really happened, and David didn't make any comment, but simply patted his son-in-law's shoulder, looking so happy that he hadn't abandoned his entire family after all. The two men shared a strong glance, as if promising each other that they would never doubt the other's honor again, then they parted and there was only one thing left to do : go home.

Killian insisted to lead Wave on the way back to the castle, and Emma didn't protest. She was too tired to do anything but lean against him and trust him with the way to take, anyway. Now that the adrenaline had left her veins and that she was sure that her family was safe, she felt like she couldn't move anymore and her eyes were closing on their own. Killian was holding her close, both arms wrapped around her and regularly kissing her neck and cheek as if to silently promise her that everything was going to be okay. She finally felt like she could breathe again, and she sighed as she was realizing that everything really was over. They really were going to be happy, now.

When the arrived at the stables at last, a few moments later, she'd almost fallen asleep against him, rocked by his presence around her and his deep voice always whispering to her ear that he loved her. She felt so peaceful, now. The last events only seemed like a bad dream, something that had never really existed in the first place. She was back in his arms, and that was all that truly mattered.

Seeing how exhausted she was, he helped her down her horse, lifting her up to place her back on her feet. She would usually have teased him about this sweet gesture, but she was way too tired to do so, now. Instead, she then offered him a small smile, and they gave their horses to a stable boy, all of them too tired to do anything else but go back home. The sun was already high in the sky when they arrived at the castle gates, and she felt like an eternity had passed since she'd left this place. Everything felt odd, as if she weren't the same person anymore, and the only thing that seemed real was Killian and his arms still wrapped around her.

Snow and Henry were both waiting for them in the big dining room. The Queen was pacing, while their son was sitting on a chair and nervously biting his nails, obviously worrying himself to death. They both immediately turned when they saw them arriving, and Henry jumped out of his seat to run into her arms, then Killian's, who squatted to hug his little boy back. She only realized that he was crying from relief when he started to talk in a muffled voice.

"I missed you so much, Dad. I knew you hadn't left us. I just knew it."

"I'm sorry, lad. I never meant to hurt you or your mum, ever. I'm sorry that I haven't been able to protect you. I love you both so much, more than anything in the world, and this will never, ever change, even in a million years."

"I'm just happy you're back." Henry said, his arms still wrapped around him as he seemed completely unwilling to let him go.

"What happened?" Snow then asked, looking a bit confused about the situation but also deeply relieved to have her family back together again.

Killian stood back up to look at the Queen, keeping one arm around Henry to hold him close. Seriously, he explained what had occurred and why he'd been behaving so strangely for the past few days. Emma saw her mom getting quite pale, a hand against her heart as if she were herself living the pain Killian had been through for all this time. She then closed her eyes, and let her husband wrap his other arm around her to rest her head against his shoulder and breathe him in. He stopped talking for a second to kiss her hair, and she sighed once again. Everything was alright, and it felt like a dream after everything that had happened lately.

"I knew it!" Snow said once he'd finished his tale. "I knew you would never have left Emma and Henry like that."

"I just love them so much." Killian said in a bit of a broken voice. "I will never, ever leave them, that I can promise you."

Emma's legs finally surrendered at this exact moment. After all the efforts she'd made while she should have stayed in bed, it was a miracle that she'd been able to stay on her feet for so long. She just felt so tired, and Killian caught her before she hit the ground, immediately leading her to the closest chair and almost carrying her to make her sit down on it. She could feel his concern into her own bones, and she placed a hand on her stomach, relieved to realize that she wasn't in pain. The baby was fine, she was sure of it. She just needed to rest now, and it would be okay. It was strong. It was going to get through this.

"Love, what's wrong?" Killian asked very softly, cupping her cheek to look into her eyes. "Are you feeling sick?"

She was about to reassure him about her health, because worrying him even more was useless, but Snow didn't give her the time to do so. She seemed very concerned about her as well, but her face looked blurry and she had to blink to try and see clearly. The only things she could really distinguish anymore were Killian's blue eyes, as the rest of her surroundings seemed foggy and unreal. It was almost scary, and she realized that she really needed to sleep. She didn't have a choice anymore, if she wanted her baby to be okay.

"Emma, we told you to stay in bed. It's no surprise that you're feeling that way, right now. I get why you've acted this way, but it was dangerous. You really need to rest."

"I had to save Killian." She defended herself weakly.

"Wait, what do you mean, Emma had to stay in bed?" Killian asked, looking almost panicked all of the sudden. "What happened?"

Snow glanced at David before answering, as if silently asking him if telling the entire truth was a good idea. They all knew how Killian was going to react to these news, but they were all well aware that he also deserved to know. Emma focused on his gorgeous eyes, still staring back at her, to try and stay into reality. She just had to hold on for a little bit longer. Then she could finally rest and all of this would only become a bad memory.

"Emma panicked when you left yesterday." Snow then admitted, as gently as she possibly could. "Blue told us that the baby was in danger, and that she could miscarry if she didn't get the rest she needed."

Killian became so pale Emma was scared that he was going to faint for a minute. He blinked, as if trying to process these news, then protectively placed his hand over her stomach and stared at it in disbelief. He looked like he was silently apologizing to their unborn child for everything that had happened, and seeing him in such distress was paining her, as she would have done anything to comfort him.

"Is it… Is the wee one okay?"

"Emma just needs to rest." Snow then nodded, trying to reassure him, too. "Your child is strong, and it's going to get through this. I'm sure of it."

Killian turned to his wife again, slowly shaking his head and stuttering a bit as he seemed to feel so guilty about the situation. She really would have wanted to lean and take him in her arms to be able to soothe him, but even that seemed too much, so she chose to gently ran her fingers through his hair instead and hoped that it would be enough to comfort him.

"I'm sorry." He repeated in a whisper. "I really am. But you're going to rest now, aye? Everything is going to be okay. I'm going to take good care of you and the little one. I promise."

And then, without notice, he got back on his feet to lift her up from her seat, one arm underneath her legs and the other in her back to hold her close. She didn't even think about protesting, as she felt too tired to even walk. She just rested her head against his shoulder, and wrapped her arms around his neck to help him in his task. This was allowing her to feel him by her side, and she finally felt her entire being relaxing against him. He was there. He'd come back. He loved her. And they were going to be alright.


	37. Chapter 37

"You can go back to sleep, my Swan. I'm staying right here by your side, and I'm not going anywhere, I promise. You're safe."

Killian was holding his wife against him, his face in her hair and his hand gently playing in her back, and she smiled at his sweet words. She snuggled a little bit closer to him, almost lying on top of him as they wanted to be as close to each other as they possibly could. He kissed her hair, in such a tender gesture that she felt her entire being relaxing, and her heartbeats finally slowing down. And at last, she let herself fall into half a sleep as he was whispering to her ear that he loved her over and over again.

They'd come back to the palace that same morning, finally reunited after everything that they'd been through for the past few days, and they hadn't let go of each other ever since. After carrying her to their room, Killian had gently laid her down in their bed and had stroked her hair and murmured gentle words to her ear until she'd finally fallen asleep to get the rest she so desperately needed.

She'd been so exhausted, so much that she could barely keep her eyes open anymore, but in some way she'd also been a bit scared to dive into her dreams. She was so afraid to wake up and realize that she'd only imagined these last amazing events, that Killian had actually left her after all and that she was all alone once again.

But she had to remember that this would never happen, that it had only been a manipulation of their enemies and that they were going to grow old and gray together, and watch their kids become amazing little people. And so she'd allowed herself to sleep at last, feeling his presence always by her side. He'd only woken her up toward the end of the afternoon with little kisses everywhere on her face, making her giggle in her sleep. She'd opened her eyes to find him smiling down at her, and he'd pecked her lips before saying.

"I'm sorry to wake you, love. I just thought that maybe it would be a good idea for you to eat something. You need to get some strength back, aye?"

He'd prepared her a real feast then, of all those things that she liked so much and had craved since the start of her pregnancy. She was hungry this time, for the first time in what seemed like forever, and she didn't even feel sick anymore. Her stomach had rumbled happily at the marvelous smell that was coming from the tray he was carrying, and everything had finally felt right in the world again.

She'd eaten most of her huge plate, still in her bed as he'd refused for her to even walk and have her meal in the kitchen. She was feeling so safe now, so loved and worthy because he was looking at her with so much adoration in his eyes, she knew that everything had gone back to normal. And damn, that felt so good to think that they could still be happy together, after all.

He'd wrapped his arms back around her when she'd finished eating, and Henry hadn't taken long to knock on their door and ask if he could join them. He'd been so worried about losing his father, and Emma could tell that he just wanted to be close to him, as if to make sure that nothing could ever happen to him again. Her husband had gestured for their son to come share a tender hug with them, and they'd just spent a sweet family moment there, as if nothing bad had happened and they'd always been these perfectly happy people.

Now that Henry had gone back to bed as it was getting late, Killian was gently rocking her against his chest. She fought against sleep for a little while, because feeling him close seemed like the best thing in the entire world on that moment and she just wanted to enjoy this, just for a little bit longer. Still, she couldn't keep her eyes open for long, so she just ended up letting herself slip into her dreams, a small smile still drawn on her lips as Killian's voice was murmuring that he loved her yet another time.

She woke up again in the middle of the night, sweat covering her forehead and Killian's name escaping her lips in a cry of distress. She sat up, sobbing, trying to catch her breath and stop panicking. The nightmare that had haunted her had seemed so real, and she just had to convince herself that it wasn't, because she had to stay sane. She couldn't allow her fears to take over her again.

In her dream, Killian had left her for real. He'd told her that she wasn't worth it and that he was better off without her. She didn't know what was real or not anymore, and she felt like she was going to drown in her own tears. To make matter worse, she'd moved in her sleep and his arms weren't wrapped around her anymore. She felt alone, lost and scared, and she just wanted to scream.

Luckily, she was back against him in less than a few seconds, and she immediately felt her heartbeats calming down at his gentle touch. Her eyes finally got used to the darkness surrounding her, and she could see her husband's figure, feel his embrace and see his worried glance staring at her. She buried his face in the crook of his neck, and realized that she didn't even have to tell him anything about what had just happened. He already knew.

"Shh, my love." He tried to soothe her. "I'm here. You're safe."

"I thought that you were gone." She answered in a broken voice. "You were telling me that you didn't love me anymore, and that… that I hadn't been able to love you correctly and that I was a horrible person."

"Gods, Emma, I'm so sorry for making you suffer." He whispered then, sounding so pained by her statement. "But it was just a dream, aye? I love you so much, and nothing will ever be able to change that. I will never, ever leave you, darling. I promise. You're the most amazing person that I know, and meeting you is the most incredible thing that's ever happened to me. I just want you to know that."

She didn't say anything else and just let his words make their way through her panicked mind, as they both knew what this dream really meant. If she was so relieved that he was back and that everything had gone back to normal at last, they were aware that her heart had been broken once again, and that it would take time to heal. What had happened hadn't been his fault at all, but it had reopened scars from her past that she had thought forever forgotten, and she'd felt worthless and abandoned again. Part of her old walls had gone right back up, and it would take time to bring them down once more, because for a moment she'd felt like she had to protect herself and had wanted to never feel anything ever again.

But she also knew that Killian was determined to show her how much he loved her, every single day of their lives together. She could sense how guilty he was feeling about all of this, even if he'd been the victim in this situation, too. And so, always telling her that he loved her to make her believe in that again, he held her close and kissed her temple and forehead to calm her down until she had finally fallen back asleep.

* * *

The few following days happened in a kind of strange, but also somehow happy blur. Emma was still having nightmares every night, in which she would find herself all alone again, but Killian was always there to take her in is arms and whisper to her ear that everything was going to be just fine. She knew that he was right. She just needed to allow herself to believe him.

No one knew what had really happened to Rumpelstiltskin after she'd made him disappear, either. Guards had traveled everywhere in the kingdom to look for him, but they hadn't found a thing. Even if hoping that she had defeated him for good was appealing, Emma very well knew that it wasn't the case. He was probably with Regina right now, building another plan to make them all suffer. They would however all be ready to fight them. She would never let her guard down again.

Right now though, she was feeling like she was living in this little bubble of protection that Killian had built for her. Even if she would have been able to start living normally again without putting the baby in danger, because days had passed since this horrible night when she'd thought that she was going to lose her child, her husband was still refusing for her to make any kind of effort.

He didn't want her to leave the apartment, or even the bed if she didn't absolutely need to. He would stay in the room with her all day, Henry often coming to join them as well, and he was pampering her like never before. He would bring her meals to bed and they would stay for hours into each other's arms, her sitting in between his legs, her head resting on the crook of his shoulder as he had his arms wrapped around her to place his hand and hook over her belly.

At night, he would murmur to her ear that he loved her over and over again until she had fallen asleep. He only wanted her to rest and to feel loved and safe, and she couldn't complain about that. She was feeling so damn exhausted, and being close to the people she loved the most was helping her to get through this and try to heal her shattered heart. That was the best cure she could ever have hoped for.

Her parents, Kate and Chiara would also come to see her everyday, as if to make sure that she was still okay. They'd all been so worried about her and the baby, and she'd never felt that amazingly loved and surrounded before in her life. And slowly, all of this was beginning to convince her that everything was going to be just fine and that Killian would actually never leave her. The smile on her face barely ever left her anymore. Everything was perfect, and it was so crazy to believe after the hell they'd all been through.

One morning, she got awakened by Killian as he was dropping a trail of little kisses down her jaw and neck, making her giggle. She ran her hand through his hair to encourage him to continue, and she felt him smile against her skin as he was nibbling at her ear. The night before, she'd finally been able to convince him that she was feeling perfectly okay, and he'd accepted for them to go out in the park for a little family walk with Henry that afternoon. She was so happy to see that life had taken its normal course again, and feeling Killian's lips on her skin was definitely going to put her in a very good mood for the rest of the day.

"Good morning, gorgeous." He whispered, going down to reach her breast, still naked from the night before.

It was pretty sore because of the pregnancy, and she noticed how gentle he was when he kissed her there, making her heart flutter. She was only wearing her underwear, as it was the only thing she'd bothered to put back on after their embrace the night before. It'd been the first time they'd made love since what they now all called _the accident._ Their moment had been so tender and loving that she'd felt like their hearts were actually beating in unison. Her husband now seemed pretty determined to start this all over again, and she certainly wasn't going to complain about that decision. She then closed her eyes as his kisses were getting even lower and he was impatiently tugging on the piece of clothing to encourage her to get rid of it.

As he was kissing her stomach though, he suddenly stopped. She didn't get surprised by this at first, as it wasn't rare for him to talk to the baby or simply kiss her skin there, as if to communicate with their unborn child. It would only make her fall in love with him all over again, at how amazing he always was as a father. After a few seconds, she still opened her eyes, intrigued to feel him staying still for so long. She blinked when she saw him looking down at her stomach with pure adoration, and she asked in a raspy voice.

"What are you doing?"

"Come, love." He just said, holding out a hand for her to take and helping her to sit up in the bed.

She chose not to ask him any question, but she was more and more puzzled by his expression. He looked so happy, but she knew that she was going to get some answers really fast, anyway. She then let him guide her out of bed, and he stopped in front of the big mirror of their room. There, he finally made her turn to her side and placed a hand over her stomach with the biggest smile still etched on his face.

That's when she finally understood what was truly going on. She hadn't noticed it yet, but now that she was paying attention to it, she could see the tiny bump that had appeared overnight around her belly-button. She blinked, surprised. Her stomach had still been flat the day before, maybe just a little bit less than usual. But now, the swelling was obvious and she placed her hand over Killian's, looking down at her belly with her heart beating fast in her chest.

She couldn't really remember anything about her first pregnancy. For the first five months, she'd tried to pretend that it wasn't happening and that everything was normal and she was going to get out of jail and be all alone all over again. She'd only gotten out of her denial when Henry had started to kick in there, and she'd begun to actually feel a bond with this tiny little person that was growing inside of her.

Still, she just couldn't recall when she'd started to show. She just remembered being hungry, cold and scared. It wasn't such happy memories, because she had been so afraid to be unable to protect this little being that she already loved so much. If things had gotten better when her son had decided to come and join her, her mind had still erased most of her time in jail. So her first pregnancy had occurred in a kind of a blur, so much that she was feeling like she was actually expecting for the first time in some way.

She was thus completely taken aback to see the little bump there, because she hadn't expected to show that early into the pregnancy. Turning to her husband, she smiled when she saw that he was looking absolutely amazed by this new discovery. He was staring at her like she'd just brought him the moon, and she chuckled slightly at his incredible expression. He leaned to kiss the top of her head, then knelt in front of her to reach her belly and kiss it as well. There, he whispered against her skin, so gently that her heart actually stuttered.

"Hey, baby. You want to show yourself, don't you?"

"I wasn't expecting to show so early on." Emma murmured, her voice a mix of joy and surprise.

Killian looked up at her again, and her smile widened at how adorable he was. He ran his thumb along her skin, making her shiver pleasantly, and he kissed her stomach a second time, before tugging on the piece of clothing she was wearing once again. The message was pretty clear and there, still kneeling in front of her, he showed her how happy he was about the life they were creating together.

At Killian's greatest disappointment though, her bump was still invisible underneath her clothes. Her parents didn't see anything when they talked to them about it, but Henry did feel it when he placed his hand over her stomach to make sure of what they were saying. His face lit up completely and he actually spent a few minutes talking to his sibling there, reminding Emma of Killian's behavior. It moved her so much that tears actually appeared in her eyes at the scene.

The walk they had planned to take that morning didn't happen after all. They just spent hours talking about this new little baby that was going to come and join them soon, and they simply stayed in their apartment, sometimes hugging, sometimes merely chatting about their future, and she felt like she'd never been this happy in her entire life.

She was finally reassured about what was going to happen to her family and she didn't have any nightmares that night. The way Killian had looked at her when discovering the bump had managed to convince her that everything was going to be just fine. He loved her and he loved their children. Nothing could ever break that, and she finally knew it now.

* * *

"You look stunning, Swan." Killian said from behind her, dropping a little kiss to the back of her ear and making her shiver as his arms were coming to wrap around her in a tender gesture.

She raised her eyebrows at her reflection, definitely unconvinced by his sweet statement. He shook his head, smiling slightly, and leaned to kiss her neck again all while holding her just a little bit closer. He was truly looking at her like she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, but she was starting to feel it a bit hard to believe him. And she had a really good reason to doubt his words.

"As stunning as could be when I can't even fit in my own clothes, huh?" She mumbled, pouting and making him chuckle against her skin.

She'd put on a long, red dress, tight underneath her breast to try and hide her little bump. They still hadn't told anyone else in the kingdom about her pregnancy, because they all knew that it was probably safer that way. Even though Regina already knew that she was pregnant, they all wanted to take all the precautions they could find for their child to be okay. She was now well aware that they couldn't keep that secret to themselves for much longer though, despite their desire to do so.

She was probably around thirteen weeks into the pregnancy, if she assumed that she'd got pregnant during their honeymoon, and ever since that morning when they'd noticed the little swelling around her belly-button, the bump hadn't seemed to stop growing. Surprisingly fast, if she was being honest. It was even starting to get noticeable underneath her clothes, and the day before, she'd discovered with a few loud curses that she couldn't even put on her usual leather pants anymore.

She was still so happy to be pregnant and it wasn't about that. And she'd known what to expect when Blue had told her that she was having a baby in the first place. But she was feeling heavy and swollen, and everything but beautiful right now. She couldn't help but wonder why her bump was getting so big already, too. If she couldn't really remember anything about her first pregnancy, it was obvious that she probably shouldn't have shown that much this early into the pregnancy. It was odd, but the Blue Fairy had also reassured them right away when they'd come to ask her these questions. It meant that their child was growing healthy in there, and if being uncomfortable was the price to pay for her baby to be okay, she was going to do it gladly.

She couldn't have been happier about her friend's statement as well, because all she ever wanted was for her loved ones to be alright, always. But she would have felt even better if she'd still been able to wear her own damn clothes. And so she'd been forced to go back to her old dresses, so she could hide her pregnancy just for a little while longer. She wanted to keep this secret like a true treasure, even if she knew that they soon wouldn't have a choice but to tell everyone anymore.

She sighed slightly and pulled away from Killian to turn on her side, one hand resting on her stomach to make sure that the dress really was hiding her small bump. Luckily, her plan had seemed to work and she finally allowed herself to smile. At least, the guests of the party they were throwing that day wouldn't wonder too much about her new appearance.

Because this was a really special moment and she just couldn't wait. Her son was turning twelve that day, and they had planned this huge celebration for him, inviting everyone they knew and all the friends their little boy had made since he'd arrived in the castle. He was so loved by the kingdom, and everyone was so happy to be able to celebrate this day with him. The shy child he'd once been was now gone, as he'd grown so much more confident and happier, almost. She was so glad to see him being able to have fun with children of his age, after being bullied so badly in their former region. Her son deserved everything in the world, and seeing his smile was the most amazing gift she could ever have imagined.

Henry was overexcited about this party, too. That morning, Killian and herself had gone to his room in order to wake him up, and wish him a happy birthday, because this was a very important event for all of them, as they'd never thought that they would be able to offer this kind of incredible life to their little boy. Their son had hugged them tightly with the biggest smile on his face, and she'd sworn that her heart had grown twice its size at seeing him so amazingly happy.

And she couldn't complain, either. Even if she wasn't feeling that comfortable in her own body right now, at least her sicknesses seemed completely gone, now. She'd found her appetite again, and felt like she was eating for three ever since Killian had come back to the castle after getting his heart back. Her husband was so relieved to see her healthy, and he would kiss her lips and tell her he loved her so many times a day she couldn't even count these moments anymore.

The mood swings had begun for real though, and it wasn't rare for her to start crying in the middle of the living room, for something as silly as dropping her spoon to the floor. Killian would never make fun of her about it, and would always be there to take her in his arms and murmur to her ear that everything was going to be just fine. In addition to all of that and even if they were getting rarer, she was still having nightmares about him leaving from time to time. And so he was pampering her, showing her that her loved her over and over again until she could finally believe him.

"Well, I happen to think that you look gorgeous, love." He added, burying his face in her long hair to breathe her in and this small smile still drawn on his lips.

"You'll change your mind when I'll start looking like a beached whale." She objected with a little shrug.

"You, my dear, will never look like anything resembling a whale, believe me." He said, sounding slightly amused by her comment. "You're the most beautiful woman that I've ever laid my eyes on, and the bump only makes you look even more radiant. You're glowing, Emma."

"If you say so." She raised her eyebrows without believing him one bit. "But you're only thinking that way because you love me."

She felt his smile widening at her statement, and he moved a little bit to reach her cheekbone and drop a sweet kiss on it. She only realized then that it was the very first time she was telling him such a thing ever since his heart had been stolen. Even if she knew that he loved her, she'd gotten so hurt that she hadn't dared to make that kind of comment before. But she hadn't thought about it before talking, and it meant that she really wasn't scared of him leaving anymore. That made her smile as well, and seeing how his eyes were shining with pure happiness, she knew that she was right and that they were really going to live happily ever after some day.

He moved to come face her and looked straight into her eyes. He placed his hand over her stomach, his hook coming to rest against her shoulder to hold her close, and he said so sweetly her heart fluttered. "Well, you are right about that, darling. I love you so very much, forever and always. But you really are stunning, and I wish that you could see yourself the way I see you. Like the most gorgeous angel on earth."

He didn't give her the time to answer anything. He knelt in front of her to kiss her bump through her dress, and this gesture managed to relax her completely, as always. She was so happy that her baby was growing healthy and strong, and even if she was feeling awkward in her own body sometimes, it was all so worth it. Killian ended up standing back up to kiss her lips, and she grinned. He always knew what she needed to hear in order to feel better, and she was aware of how incredibly lucky she was to be able to share her life with this man that was so incredibly perfect for her.

"Shall we go?" He ended up saying after a while, interlacing his fingers with hers and gently leading her out of the room. "The lad is pretty excited about this little party that we're throwing, and it would be bad form to make him wait on his birthday."

Henry was indeed already in the living room, and he immediately jumped out of the couch he was sitting on when he heard them arriving. His smile hadn't left him once since he'd woken up, and he seemed like the happiest little boy on earth. Emma wrapped her arms around him and kissed his head in a sweet, protective gesture, before looking at him for a few seconds.

She couldn't help but notice how much he'd grown in such little time, the small little boy he'd once been seeming like only a memory now. In barely a few more years, he would be much taller than her and this thought filled her with a mix of nostalgia and pride. She could still remember the time when he was just a baby, and she could hold him in the crook of her arm and sing him lullabies to help him fall asleep. Time had passed so fast, and she felt tears appearing in her eyes, that she forced herself to blink away. This pregnancy really was making her so emotional but this was a happy day, so she smiled instead and asked.

"Ready to go to your party, kiddo?"

He nodded enthusiastically, what made her chuckle slightly. It was the very first time he could actually celebrate this day with kids of his age, and she was so glad that he seemed to finally have found his place in this world. Killian was still holding her hand, and the three of them decided to get downstairs in order to greet the guests, that were starting to arrive. Emma could tell that this day was going to be incredible, and she couldn't help but smile. Everything was perfect.

Soon enough, the ballroom of the palace was filled with laughter and music, and Emma's grin wasn't wavering anymore. Killian's arm wrapped around her waist, she was watching her son chatting with a boy of his age, whom he'd met at their wedding if she remembered correctly. She snuggled a little bit closer to her husband as they were standing near the dance area, and he kissed her hair in a tender gesture that made her heart stutter. They got lost in their own little world for a moment, and it's only when a familiar voice started to talk next to them that they remembered they weren't actually the only ones in the room.

"Marriage looks good on you."

They both grinned back at Ella, who'd just arrived beside them with her husband and daughter, the baby happily babbling in her mother's arms. Emma immediately leaned to smile at the little girl, feeling her heart swelling in her chest at the thought that, soon, it would be their turn to take care of such an adorable tiny little human. Their friends were looking at them, seeming a bit tenderized by how close they always were, and Ella added gently.

"You're glowing, Emma."

Her smile widened and she felt herself blushing a little bit at these words, as Killian was smirking against her as well. Her entire family would always tell her that she was looking beautiful, and that everyone could see how happy she was. She was feeling too uncomfortable lately to believe them though, but hearing this comment coming from someone who wasn't a close family member was actually making her feel so much better. She took the time to enjoy the statement for a little bit, then Killian said, still holding her close.

"Your family looks really happy, too. What do you say, Alexandra?" He added to the little girl, who kicked her little legs in excitement at being the center of attention. "Do you like the party?"

Seeing him interacting so perfectly with the baby made Emma bite her lower lip so she wouldn't start crying in emotion. She could see their future, right there, and how amazing he was as a father. She could imagine him with their future child, talking to it in a soothing voice when it would be scared and making it laugh at his jokes. She just couldn't wait to do all of this with him all over again. And she felt so lucky that their baby actually had the best father it could ever have wished for.

The conversation with Ella lasted for a little while, before their friends ended up walking away to go settle at a table. Killian and Emma were left alone again, and they stayed silent for a few seconds. He kissed her temple, smiling against her, and he finally said in a loving tone.

"See, love? Everybody is saying that you look beautiful. Will you finally believe me when I tell you so, now?"

"You know what I think?" She answered, looking up and smiling back at him.

"Tell me, darling."

"You're the best father Henry could ever have hoped for. And you're going to be the best with this little one that is coming into our lives as well. I couldn't be prouder of building this family with you. I love you beyond everything, Killian."

He blinked at that, looking so touched by her sudden statement that tears actually appeared in his eyes. She was well aware that he was still doubting himself, sometimes. He'd never had a real example of what a father should be like, but he was perfect and she would always manage to comfort him when he was going through some hard times, because their children were so lucky to have him in their lives. He would do the same with her too, reassuring her when she needed it, and she felt like they were making such a wonderful team and could actually overcome anything together.

After a few seconds of silence, he answered so gently her heart skipped a beat. "Thank you, my love. It means so much to me. And I love you, too. You're perfect, so much that I can hardly believe it sometimes."

He leaned to kiss her lips then, his hand moving in her back in a tender stroke that made her sigh against his mouth. They stayed like this for a while, simply kissing and so in love with each other that it felt bigger than anything else, until they got interrupted by someone laughing beside them.

They both parted to discover Granny and Red now standing there, watching them with huge, happy smiles. Emma really liked the two women, even if she wasn't as close to them as she was to Chiara and Kate, and she was genuinely happy to see them there. She knew this mocking grin that Red was throwing in her direction all too well, and she chuckled in advance, knowing that her friend was most probably going to give her one of those honest sentences that she mastered.

"You both seem more than fine." Granny smiled, looking tenderized by their sweet gestures toward each other. "Marriage is treating you well."

"It does seem like it." Red added, and Emma braced herself for what was coming, already knowing that it was probably going to be good. "You've been married for a few months now, though. So, tell me. When will you finally start trying for a baby?"

"Red!" Her grandmother cried out disapprovingly.

Emma was surprised at first, but she'd also been expecting something of the sort coming from her friend, and she then quickly felt a chuckle blooming in her throat. Trying to hide how amused she was so she wouldn't give the truth away, she buried her face in Killian's neck, trying to seem embarrassed instead. She could hear at her husband's breathing that he was trying not to start laughing as well, and she could hear his silent words to her. _If only they knew, love…_ He waited for a second, trying to get his composure back, then he finally said with laughter still a bit audible in his voice.

"You know what? We'll definitely think about it."

That made Emma laugh even harder, and she only dared to look up when the two women had walked away from them. She giggled for a few seconds there, her head resting on Killian's shoulder as he was still holding her close. His chest was rising up and down quickly as he was chuckling with her, and he said to her ear so no one else could hear them.

"At least you know that you don't have to be worried about people noticing your pregnancy, darling. It's safe to say that nobody knows anything."

"I know that some people are definitely gonna be pretty surprised when they'll learn the truth." Emma answered, tears of joy in her eyes and the biggest smile on her face. "I can't wait to see their reactions to the news. This is hilarious."

Killian looked down at her, his eyes shining with so much love that she couldn't help but put herself on her tiptoes and kiss his lips once again. He smiled at that, and leaned to press a little peck to the tip of her nose then, making her smile. They stayed in this comforting, amazing embrace for a little while longer, then he gestured toward the table where Ariel, Eric and their daughter were settled and offered.

"Don't you want to go sit down for a bit? Maybe you shouldn't stay on your feet for so long. Tell me if you feel tired, aye? I just want you and the wee one to be fine."

"Babe, breathe." Emma laughed slightly, amused by his sudden concern. "I feel amazing. I haven't felt that good in weeks, actually. Don't worry about us. We'll be okay, I'll make sure of it.'

"I'm glad to hear that, my love. But perhaps you should go sit down for a few minutes, anyway. I just don't want you to exhaust yourself, you know?"

"Fine." Emma rolled her eyes at that, and it made him smile slightly. "I'll go sit down in a bit. At one condition, though."

"Anything, lass. You know you can ask me whatever you want, and I'll get it for you."

"Well, in that case, can I have this dance, captain?" She then asked, and his smile widened as she was leading him toward the dance area.

She was feeling so good that day, and the idea of sharing this little waltz with the man she loved was making her so happy. It was these kind of little moments that were so important for them, these times that made them feel like they were the only ones in the world and their love was bigger than anything else. They loved each other, so much, and she felt grateful every day that they had this incredible life now, despite all the hardships they were still facing. And these simple moments spent with him and her family were her favorite things in the entire universe.

He pretended to think about her proposition for a second, and she playfully smacked his shoulder, making him laugh. He leaned to press a kiss to her forehead, and she smiled up at him, feeling like the happiest woman in the world on that moment. She had this amazing man that she loved so much, a wonderful son who could now celebrate his birthday properly, parents that she had finally found after all these years, and new friends that she knew would have done anything for her. Life was good. And after everything she'd been through, this thought seemed like the most wonderful thing ever.

"How could I possibly say no when it's asked this nicely." Killian finally answered, taking her hand and making her spin on herself as she was laughing out loud.

The one dance they'd agreed on sharing at first turned into several others, and she didn't stop smiling once at these deeply happy times. Her husband still ended up insisting for her to go take some rest though, and she chose not to protest once again. She knew how worried he was about her since what had happened a few weeks earlier, and she just didn't want him to be scared about her or the baby. She could feel that their little bean was okay, but it wasn't his case because she was the one carrying their child. All she wanted was for him to be happy.

His hand still in hers, she then went to sit down at the table he'd shown her earlier. Ariel, Eric and Melody were there, and she started a peaceful conversation with them, as she'd gotten pretty close to this family ever since she'd met them. Killian left the group for a little while, kissing her hair and telling them that he was going to grab something to drink, and she spent a little while there, simply chatting with her friends. On this moment, it was almost crazy to think that Regina was still threatening the entire kingdom, as everything was so relaxed and felt so safe. She certainly wasn't going to complain about it. They really needed these happy times before going for a fight yet another time.

Killian didn't take long to come back, as if he didn't want to stay away from her for too long, as always since his heart had been stolen. He was carrying a tray with him, on which were placed two glasses of orange juice and two pieces of cake. Her stomach rumbled at the sight, and she only realized then that she was actually starving. When her husband placed her snacks in front of her, she smiled and looked up at him to say.

"You're reading my mind."

It made him laugh slightly, and he pecked her lips once again, his hand lingering on the small of her back as she was digging into the cake. Their friends ended up leaving after a few more minutes, listening to their little girl who wanted to go dance for a bit, event that allowed Emma to attack the second piece of dessert without having to answer embarrassing questions about her food choices to anyone. She was smiling happily when she finished her meal, and that's when she noticed Henry, as he was standing at the back of the room and seemed in the middle of a pretty cheerful conversation she knew nothing about.

She frowned slightly, suddenly intrigued by what she was seeing. He was standing really close to a young girl with black hair, who was listening to him intently. Her son seemed somewhat nervous, and he said something that made the other kid laugh. He then shyly gestured toward the dance area, and the little girl accepted the hand he was extending for her to take, blushing brightly.

Emma was finding this scene absolutely adorable, but she had to admit that she was a little bit surprised to witness such a thing. Her son was barely twelve, and she hadn't expected him to start flirting with someone else before a few more years at least. She turned to Killian, who was smiling cheerfully as he was watching their son, and she understood that he probably knew something that she didn't. Raising her eyebrows, she then asked.

"Do you know who this girl is?"

"Aye, her name is Violet." Her husband answered. "She was at our wedding. She's the daughter of one of your parents' friend. They come from another realm – Camelot, if I remember correctly. They arrived here right after the Dark Curse was broken, and your father helped them to settle in, hence why they became friends. The lass was having trouble finding her place here, and I know that her and Henry met at the ceremony. They're quite close, now."

"How do you know all of that?" Emma got surprised, watching the two kids dancing a little bit clumsily together. "I've never even heard her name before."

"The lad told me about her." Killian admitted with a small chuckle. "One day, while you were taking a nap. He was a bit embarrassed about it. I think that he likes her."

Emma had half a smile at this obvious statement, as Henry was staring lovingly at his friend. She had shared feelings about this entire situation, though. She couldn't help but feel a little bit disappointed that Henry hadn't come to her about this, but at the same time, she couldn't have been happier that he'd talked to Killian about his feelings. It showed how much he truly trusted his father, and she couldn't even believe the wonderful bond they were sharing sometimes.

"And what did you tell him?" She then asked.

"I told him to listen to his heart, because he has the biggest one of everyone I know. He's a good lad, but he's also just a child, so I advised him not to go too fast and to just follow his instincts. The lass seems like a nice kid too, so I'm sure everything is going to be alright."

"Our son is growing up, Killian." Emma then sighed, leaning against her husband's shoulder as he was wrapping his arm around her. "I feel like it was yesterday that he was fitting in the crook of my arm."

"And I couldn't be prouder of him." Killian added gently. "And now, our family his growing again, and I'm the happiest man on earth. We're going to be happy, my Swan. That I can promise you."

Her smiled widened, but she didn't add anything. She just stayed against him, watching the amazing son they'd raised together and appreciating the future they were building. He was right. They were going to be alright, and she just couldn't wait to spend the rest of her life beside this wonderful man.

* * *

"You'll be careful, aye? Please don't go too fast, love. I don't want you to risk falling over..."

"For the love of Gods, Killian!" Emma answered, rolling her eyes in annoyance. "You do know that I can ride this horse, right? I'll be okay, I know what I'm doing. Can't you trust me with this for a second?"

"It's not a question of trust, Swan!" He protested. "I know that you're a good rider, I just want to make sure that you're alright!"

She sighed and shook her head, patting Wave's neck as her horse seemed pretty impatient to get to work as well. Henry's birthday party had happened the day before, and she was still feeling as good as ever. It was like she could finally do anything after all those weeks spent in a constant state of exhaustion, and she really wanted to start with her horse riding lessons again. She hadn't gone back on her mount since the day she'd left to save Killian, settling with simply coming to spend a bit of time with her mare every afternoon. She felt ready now, though. This decision however didn't seem to reassure Killian at all, because he now looked absolutely terrified about her falling down during this moment she'd been waiting for for so long.

She looked into his eyes, understanding his concern but also wishing that he would stop being so worried all the time. "Babe, listen. I'm just going to spend a few minutes in the park. We both agreed that I would be careful. I want the baby to be okay too, you know. Everything is gonna be fine, I promise."

He finally seemed convinced by her last sentence, and sighed while nodding, because he knew all too well that she was too stubborn to give up on the idea she'd had, anyway. She then finally got on her saddle, feeling so much clumsier than usual and definitely missing her leather pants very much. Snow had promised to get the palace tailor working on making her new pants that she could use during the pregnancy, and she just couldn't wait to get rid of these long, uncomfortable dresses she was forced to wear for now.

She still smiled as she was settling on her horse, so happy to be back to this place where she seemed to be overhanging the entire world. Suddenly, as she was there and as the morning sun was drawing figures of light on the grass, it felt like everything was right in the world again.

Henry had decided to stay inside the castle that day, wanting to start one of the numerous books he'd received to celebrate his birthday. Killian had wanted to come with her for this little ride though, and he was watching her with a little bit of worry shining deep into his blue eyes. He was most definitely nervous about this, as if she were about to fall over at any given moment and didn't know what she was doing at all.

Even if she could understand why he was acting that way, his behavior was starting to annoy her a little bit. He was only doing that because he loved her and he wanted the baby the be healthy, and she also knew that he was somehow trying to make amends for what had happened between them, even if she'd told him dozens of times that it hadn't been his fault, but this was starting to get a little bit hard to bear. She was pregnant, not sick. If she had to be careful because she wanted their child to be perfectly healthy too, she could still keep on living. Killian didn't seem willing to understand that, though. He was pampering her like never before, and she just wanted him to see that she wasn't a fragile little thing that he had to protect. She was okay and she was careful, and their child was going to be just fine. She was going to make sure of it.

She then decided to ignore the worried glances he was throwing in her direction, and simply focused on how great it felt to be back on her horse. She was feeling so good, the warm breeze of summer making her hair fly in her back, and she was so full of energy she couldn't help but smile. She was determined to enjoy these moments during which she was feeling so good, because she knew that her exhaustion would probably come back to torture her soon enough. And going out of her room and doing was she loved seemed like the best way to take advantage of her good mood.

Despite her annoyance, she was careful to stay next to her husband, because even if she was finding his behavior silly, she knew that he would feel better if she didn't go too far away. After a few moments of silence, he asked. "Is everything okay?"

"Killian, babe." She started, trying to stay patient. "I love you, but could you please stop being that overprotective? I'm fine, the baby is too. Stop worrying, you're going to drive me nuts."

"Oh, well, apologize for wanting my wife and child to be okay." He mumbled, looking a bit offended by her words.

"You're overreacting, and you very well know it." She sighed, stopping her horse to look at him more easily. "Please, tell me what the hell could possibly happen to me? I'm perfectly safe, here."

At this exact moment, as if to prove her wrong, screams coming from the castle forced them to stop their little bickering and look up. The sun was blinding, and Emma had to squint in order to understand what was going on. She finally noticed the rider that was coming in their direction, their mount at full speed. Right behind him, a stable boy was running and yelling something that she just couldn't hear yet. Seeing her and Killian there, the boy stopped and told them, panting.

"Warn the guards! He just stole the Queen's tiara!"

The words rang in Emma's ears, and she didn't give herself the time to wonder about what to do. She didn't ask herself any questions about how the hell this guy had managed to get through all the guards that were watching the castle, to get to the room where the tiara was kept. She could simply remember what her mother had told her about this tiara during one of their numerous conversations. And she just knew that she had to get it back.

This item had been given to Snow by her mother, as she was just a little girl. The previous Queen had died not long after, and it was one of the only things she had left from this woman that had vanished while she was barely just a child. It was covered in gold and diamonds, but that wasn't what was truly important. It had a huge emotional value, and Emma knew that she couldn't let her mom lose this thing that meant so much to her.

And so she didn't think for another second before acting. She was already on her horse, and it would have been a shame to miss this opportunity to go and chase this thief. She didn't even hear Killian calling after her when he realized what she was about to do, and she brought Wave to gallop right behind the guy, trying to reach him and get what was her family's back to safety.

She was going so fast that the wind felt like slaps in her face. She could barely see anything around her, but she smiled when she realized that she was actually slowly breaking the distance between her and this stranger. The only thing she could tell about him was that he was a man with brown hair, but she didn't really care about who he was. She just wanted to get this tiara back, and that was all she could think about on that moment.

They ran through the city, crossed the town gates and continued their race in the forest. She heard him letting go of a loud curse when he realized that she was still chasing him, and that her horse was definitely faster than his. The speed had made her blush and the adrenaline that was running through her veins was making her heart pound in her chest, but she wasn't about to give up. She leaned to whisper to her horse's ear and encourage her :

"Come on Wave, come on, girl. I know you can do this."

Her words seemed to have their effect on the mare. She started to go even faster and, soon enough, Emma was beside the man who had dared to steal this tiara that was so important to Snow. She felt him turning in her direction as she was trying to find a way to stop him or get what she wanted back, and knew that he was going to try something in order to defend himself. She wasn't fast enough, though, and he managed to take her by surprise.

She saw him leaning toward her, not understanding what he had in mind right away. Without notice, he then pushed her out of her saddle to make her fall over. Wave let go of an infuriated neigh at the blow, but Emma managed to keep her balance at first. He tried to push her again though, and this time she couldn't do anything as she was feeling herself falling. The only thing she was actually able to do at this point was grabbing her opponent's arm so he would go down with her at least.

She violently hit the ground, rolling in the dust of the path. She fortunately thought about wrapping her arms around herself to protect her bump and the baby, and her back took the entirety of the shock. She let go of a whimper of pain then, half knocked out by the fall, but she did hear another body crashing just next to her. She may have fallen off her horse, but she'd taken the thief with her too. She could still get the tiara now, she just had to get back up and keep fighting.

She opened her eyes, only realizing then that she'd closed them under the pain. Everything seemed blurry around her, and she saw Wave's foggy figure panicking for a second, before turning and starting to gallop back toward the castle. Emma just watched her go, not even feeling strong enough to call her back. She however noticed her mother's diadem lying down just next to her, as it'd fallen as well. She rolled on her side to grab it, holding it close to her heart as if to protect it from the stranger that was still struggling to get up beside her.

"Emma?"

She was trying to sit up when she startled, hearing her name. The fact that this man she didn't know knew who she was wasn't surprising, because she was the princess and everyone in this city knew her face after all. But the voice that had pronounced her name was way too familiar. It was bringing her right back to a part of her life she would have wanted to forget, and an unpleasant shiver suddenly ran up her spine.

She didn't dare to look up, too scared of what she was going to find by doing so. But at last, she managed to get back on her feet, and she didn't have a choice but to face the thief that had made her fall over in the first place. Her stomach was in knots, and she suddenly felt like she was going to be sick. She knew this man. She knew that expression, those eyes, this all too familiar face. And realizing that she did was making her dizzy.

Neal. Neal was standing in front of her, and she just couldn't understand how this was even possible.

He looked at her, seeming as surprised as she was. His eyes widened, as he was looking like he was about to run away at any given moment. He hadn't changed one bit, despite all the years that had passed. He was still the same guy who had abandoned her as she was just a child. The one who had knocked her up and had left her to rot in jail. The one who had broken her heart, and because of whom she hadn't been able to trust anyone for years, until Killian had come into her life and shown her that she could still be happy after all.

"So that's true, what they say?" He ended up asking in a low voice. "You really are the princess, huh?"

Images of her time in prison, of her broken childhood and of everything that she'd gone through because of this man were flashing before her eyes, making her want to throw up. She wanted to start yelling and crying all at the same time. She could barely notice the pain that was running through her lower back, or how her knee was bleeding because of her fall. She just couldn't think about anything, except that he was there and that she had to protect herself from him. So, out of instincts, she placed her hand on her stomach to keep the baby safe from this shadow of her past that was coming back to haunt her.

His eyes widened a bit more when he saw her gesture, and he asked. "Wait, you… You're pregnant?"

She felt a huge rage taking over her at once, and she felt like it was filling every single one of her cells and she was going to explode. All she wanted to do on that moment was to punch him right in the face, so he would know the pain he'd forced her to go through while she was only just a child. He'd lied to her. He'd abandoned her. And he had to pay for that.

"Why are you so surprised by this?" She then spat out without thinking. "Do you feel it so hard to believe, that I've been able to build my life again after what you did to me? You left me to rot in a freaking cell for months, while I was just a kid. How dare you even talk to me, Neal? How does it feel like to know that you're just an asshole, who can't do anything but destroy everything he touches?"

He blinked slowly at that, looking like he was only half understanding her words, like he wasn't completely there. Then, finally, it looked like her last sentences had got to him and he shook his head, taking a few steps back to get to his horse, that hadn't run away like Wave had. He got on his saddle before she could add anything or tell him that he was being a coward yet another time, and he simply said without even looking at her.

"I can't."

And then he was gone. Again.

She stayed in the forest for a long time without moving one bit. She was lost and afraid, and didn't even really know who she was anymore. She felt sick and was so dizzy that she couldn't really tell if she was standing up or sitting down. Her back was hurting so badly that she would have cried about it, if she hadn't been so completely shocked by what had just happened.

She could still see Neal, the last time they'd been together. She could hear him telling her that he loved her, and her naive self believing him before he let her go to jail. Flashes were still coming to her, giving her a horrible migraine. And out of nowhere, a violent nausea took over her, and she leaned against the closest tree to throw up everything her stomach was containing.

She realized while trying to catch her breath that he hadn't even apologized for everything that he'd done to her.

Emma never really knew how she did it to come back to the palace after this. She couldn't remember anything, being in complete shock. She probably walked there, since she didn't have a horse anymore. The guards standing at the city gates asked her worried questions when they saw her walking past them with her torn dress, bloody knee and empty eyes. She didn't even answer them. She was numb. She couldn't feel a thing. And she knew that it should have scared her, but she just couldn't bring herself to care.

She was stumbling, finding the simple fact of walking so hard. Her entire body was hurting, and she felt like she was living in a nightmare. She was only half conscious when she finally reached the castle, and barely saw the few figures that were moving at the back of the park. She still managed to recognize Killian though, as he was holding Wave and seemed to be giving orders she couldn't hear to the guards around him. She could tell that he was very probably trying to organize a search party for her, but this information didn't make her feel anything. She looked up, seeing that the sun was already high in the sky, and realized absently that she'd probably been gone for longer than what she'd thought at first.

She still hadn't let go of the tiara. She was feeling like it was the only thing keeping her into reality, as images of her past were still coming back to her in big, scary waves. Her legs were quivering, and she felt like she could have fallen at any given moment. She just wanted it to stop.

Killian finally noticed her presence when Wave started to move nervously, feeling that she was back. The horse was a smart one, and Emma could tell that she'd probably come all the way there to try and warn Killian about what was going on. Her husband let go of the mare, and he immediately rushed toward her. He was running so fast he looked like he wasn't even touching the ground anymore. She frowned at that, realizing that she wasn't making any sense.

"Swan!" He called her, as she was still slowly walking to approach him. "Emma?"

The tone he'd used to say her name told her that he'd just noticed the state she was in. Tears were shining in his eyes, and she took three more steps as he was stopping in front of her. He looked at her, and only had the time to reach out his arms before she collapsed against him, unconscious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys! So if you know me, you probably know that saying that I don't like Neal is the understatement of the year. There's a reason why I put him in this fiction, though. I feel like it's important for Emma to be able to face this part of her life, especially now that she's pregnant again. A lot of things are going to happen in this storyline, but as I already said it a couple of times, this will always stay a Captain Swan fiction and this fact will never change. I just think that it's important for both Killian and Emma to face their past in order to completely live the future that is awaiting for them. I hope that you liked this chapter, and see you soon!


	38. Chapter 38

"Is she alright? Please, tell me that she is. I can't… She has to be okay."

"She's perfectly healthy. Surprisingly, given what she's just been through. She just has a few scratches, and the wound on her knee isn't bad. The only things that could be possibly dangerous are the bruises on her back, but they'll heal well, I'm sure of it."

"Why the bloody hell is she unconscious, then? Something's wrong, I can tell! Emma, my love, can you hear me? Please, darling. Please, answer me."

"She's merely in shock, for some reason. I don't know what happened to her out there, but it's probably shaken her up quite a bit."

"And the baby? Is the wee one alright?"

"Killian, breathe. You need to calm down. We are all worried, but you know that we have to wait for the Blue Fairy in order to know if the little one is okay. And I'm sure it is. It's strong, just like its parents."

"Calming down? My wife is bloody passed out, and I don't even know what happened to her! She's hurt, and I can't tell if my baby's okay. How do you want me to calm down?"

"If it can make you feel any better, I'm sure that your child is just fine. Emma doesn't have any bruises on her stomach, and she hasn't lost any blood either. Her back took the entirety of the shock."

"Mom, please wake up. Please, we just want to know that you're okay..."

"Swan… Listen to the lad, love. Can you please show us that you can hear us? Can you give us a sign? Anything, lass, but please... Please come back to me."

Her family's voices seemed like strangely distorted to her ears. She could still recognize Killian's, her son's and her mother's, talking all around her, even if she couldn't really tell what was happening. One of the voices there was unfamiliar though, but she felt like she just couldn't even wonder what was going on. Everything felt numb and surreal, and she didn't know where she was anymore.

All of the sudden, some sensations finally seemed to come back to her. Her arms and legs were itchy and a pain in her back made her want to gasp in surprise. It was bad, but at least she felt like she was alive again. She could feel the soft sheets of her bed on her skin, and her loved ones' fear into her own guts. Something had happened to her. But what was it, exactly?

One thing was sure, she was finally coming back to reality.

She decided to listen to her husband and opened her eyes at last, even if it felt like one of the hardest things she'd ever had to do. She blinked a few times, and the first thing she saw was the white ceiling of her bedroom. She could sense several presences around her, so she turned her head to see who was there and finally understand what the hell was happening to her.

She instantly met Killian's gaze, as he was kneeling next to the bed to be as close to her as he possibly could. He had one hand tangled up in her hair, and his hook was gently resting on her bump. There was a second of silence as he was staring at her like he just couldn't believe that she really was back. Then he realized what was happening and tears appeared in his eyes as he was starting to stroke her hair in a sweet gesture that made her want to cry along with him.

"Hey… hey, darling. I'm so happy that you're back. Are you alright?"

His voice finally made her completely come back to what was now her new reality, and she felt like she couldn't breathe anymore as she was remembering what had happened in the woods. She was so, so scared and she wanted to yell. Neal. Neal was back and, with him, scars of her past she'd thought healed for a long time had reopened at once. This couldn't be happening. She didn't want it to. She just wanted all of this to be a nightmare.

She opened her mouth to answer and tell everything to her husband, her pain and her terror, so he could finally know too. She also wanted to reassure him, because he was looking so worried it was almost unbearable. But when she tried to talk, nothing at all came out. She opened her mouth again, and her eyes widened with the awful realization that she just couldn't say anything. An invisible barrier was blocking her mind, and it was horrifying. She didn't have control over anything anymore. Panicked, she glued her hand to her lips and started to sob uncontrollably, because that was the only thing left to do at this point.

She was in Killian's arms in less than a second, as he'd immediately noticed what was going on with her. He came to lie down next to her on the bed, and she rolled on her side to snuggle against him and bury her face in the crook of his neck. She could hear his heart beating fast as he was wondering what was wrong, but he gently stroked her hair and kissed her temple to try and soothe her without asking her any question.

"Shh, lass. Everything is going to be fine now, I promise. You're safe here. I'm right beside you, and I'm not going anywhere. I love you. I promise that everything is going to be alright."

He had no idea of what had just occurred, and she was pretty sure that when he would learn about it, he would be as distraught as she was. But for now, all he wanted was to make her feel better, and he was helping her more than anything else could ever have. She could guess at the way he was holding onto her that he'd been so scared of losing her and the baby. She'd disappeared for a while after all, and had then fallen unconscious in his arms without an explanation. She would have wanted to apologize for scaring him, for leaving without thinking and putting their child in danger, but once again, she simply couldn't make a sound. It made her feel stupid and useless, and she just started to cry a little bit harder.

After a while though, she ended up calming down, rocked by her husband's gentle embrace and the conviction that she wasn't alone, and would never have to be again. Gently, he wiped off the tears that were streaming down her face and kissed her cheek, and she did the best she could in order to pull herself together. Her son was in the room, and she didn't want him to be too worried about her. And mostly, she needed to stay strong, because her unborn child needed her to be alright and not start panicking too much. She just hoped that she hadn't hurt the little one because of what had happened with Neal. She simply wanted it to be okay, and she knew that she would never have forgiven herself if it had got hurt because of her decision to go after the thief.

Determined to show her son that she was okay, even if it wasn't exactly true, she gently pulled away from Killian to turn and look at Henry. She didn't manage to give him a real smile, but her try seemed to reassure him a little bit anyway. He leaned toward her and wrapped his arms around her for a tight hug. She embraced him back, kissed his hair and closed her eyes to try not to start sobbing once again.

"You scared me for a second there, Mom. Dad wanted to follow you when you left, but you were already too far away. We called for backups, but we didn't manage to find you. You weren't coming back, and we just thought… Gods, I'm so happy you're alright."

Emma felt one tear rolling down the side of her face and held her son just a little bit closer to her heart. She felt like the pain she was going through would never fade away, and the reality of the situation hit her all at once as she was holding Henry. Neal was back, and he had no idea that he had a son. Son who was thinking that his biological father had died a hero before his birth. The little boy had no clue that she'd lied to him for all these years, in order to protect him. And now, with her ex-lover back in the kingdom, he could learn the truth and realize that she hadn't told him the real story.

She wanted to believe that she'd taken the decision to invent this tale for his own good, in order to protect him from this asshole that Neal was. But a little voice at the back of her mind was yelling that she hadn't only done this for him. Maybe she'd chosen to lie to keep herself safe, because she'd wanted to avoid her son asking questions about this man she never wanted to see or hear about again. Perhaps she'd been selfish to act that way, and now he was going to learn about it.

She shook her head, trying to erase these dark thoughts from her troubled mind. She didn't want to think about her son's reaction if he ever discovered her lies, and she really didn't need this in addition to everything that was going on in her life already. She'd taken this decision as she was just a child herself. She had panicked and inventing this story had been the only thing she'd found. Maybe she'd made a mistake, but she didn't want this to ruin the trust Henry had for her. She wasn't sure she would have been able to handle such a thing.

She forced herself to take some deep breaths though, and to stop panicking so much. Neal was probably going to disappear yet another time, and she would never see him again. She wasn't sure she would have been able to stand another encounter with him anyway, and he was a coward. Seeing her again had scared him, and he was going to run away. It however didn't change the fact that she was completely overwhelmed by this. She felt like her life had been turned upside down once again, because she'd never thought about Neal possibly coming back in her life. And right now, the only thing she could do was protecting herself, or she was going to break down and this couldn't happen.

"How are you feeling?"

Emma looked up to see who else was in the room with her, and learn more about this voice that she didn't know. Her parents were sitting on the edge of her bed, looking deeply relieved to see her awake at last. The other man that was there was looking at her intently, and she guessed that he was probably the healer her parents had called to assess her wounds and make sure that she was alright. He wasn't their usual one, and it meant that her family really had been so scared about her and had wanted the best physician to attend to her. She was feeling a bit guilty for scaring them so badly, but now she was okay and she was determined to show them that they didn't have to worry about her anymore. She was going to be just fine, as always.

So she opened her mouth, wanting to ask the man if everything was okay, but once again, she found herself unable to make a sound. Her eyes filled in with tears once more, as this observation was making her so horribly anxious. She couldn't understand why this was happening, and on that moment, it felt like nothing would ever be the same again.

Killian was playing with a strand of her hair to try and comfort her, and asked in a concerned tone. "What's happening to her? Is something wrong?"

"I think that she's merely in shock." The healer then said, shaking his head in confusion. "We have to give her the time she needs to calm down. You're okay, though." He continued, offering her a reassuring smile and it somehow managed to make her feel a bit better. "You have impressive bruises on your back, but if you rest for a few days and put ice on it, it should be just fine. I don't know what to do about your voice, but I'm sure that it'll come back in a few hours. Just try to sleep, and you'll be alright, I promise."

Emma nodded, even if she knew that her voice wasn't the issue here. Her throat was fine, she was just so shocked that it had turned her completely speechless. The only thing she could do right now was hoping that she would be able to talk again soon, but she also knew that this was going to give her the time she needed to pull herself together and be able to tell her family about what had happened there in the forest without completely losing it.

Killian gently leaned to kiss her temple and he murmured to her ear, so gently that for a second, she was convinced that everything really was going to be fine. "I'm going to make sure that you're okay darling. You're safe here, and I love you so bloody much. You'll be alright."

She looked up at him to meet his worried gaze and, despite his worry, he still managed to smile at her reassuringly. She felt her entire being relaxing at this, and let go of a little sigh. Her parents approached her to be able to hug her as well and, a few seconds later, as she was buried in her father's comforting arms, the door of the room opened and the Blue Fairy finally walked in.

The healer then left to give them some privacy, reminding her to get as much rest as she could, and she noticed how concerned her friend seemed about her. She just prayed that her baby was fine. She felt like it was the most important thing right now. She could take care of the rest later.

Killian explained to the fairy the little he knew about the situation, most of which was coming from the healer himself since she just couldn't seem to talk. The good news was that her stomach seemed to be untouched, as she'd tried to protect it during her fall. She nodded vigorously when Killian guessed that she'd fallen from her horse, and it's only then that she learned with a bit of a surprise that she'd stayed unconscious for more than an hour. She could now understand why her family had been so panicked about her, and she just sighed once again, simply wanting to know if her child was okay, now.

Blue listened to Killian intently, then placed her wand above Emma's stomach to assess the baby's health. There was a second of silence that felt like an eternity as everybody was holding their breath and waiting to know more. But finally, the heartbeats filled in the room, as strong as ever, and she allowed herself to start breathing again. It was fine. It was strong. And she couldn't have been more relieved about it.

"It's perfectly healthy" Their friend told them, and everybody sighed in relief at the exact same time. "It hasn't gotten hurt at all. Your child is definitely a fighter." She added with a small smile.

Emma closed her eyes at these words and felt like the world could maybe end up going back to normal after all. She was so glad to know that everything was fine with her child, and feeling her loved ones close was the best cure she could ever have wished for. And soon, she knew it now, she would be able to tell Killian about what had really happened out there. She wanted to talk to him, because this was important and scary and she just needed to share her feelings with him. But for now, she had to take some time to process the situation. She didn't want to break down while explaining everything to her husband. She just wanted to be okay again.

They spent a while like this without moving, simply listening to the baby's heartbeats. And slowly, she started to relax at the thought that her family was fine, and that she probably was never going to see Neal again, anyway. It had just been an unfortunate meeting, but everything could still be okay. She was safe, she wasn't hurt, the baby was fine and she would be happy some day. She just knew it.

When the Blue Fairy left a little while later, her parents decided to take Henry out in the park for a bit, to allow him to think about something else since he'd been so worried about her. She'd also been told to rest a lot, and everyone could guess that all these people in the room weren't helping her to do so. They almost needed to force the little boy to get out of the bedroom though, as he didn't want to be away from her after what had happened. He just held her close, and it's only when Killian promised him that he would make sure nothing would happen to her again, that he accepted to leave for a few hours. And just like that, she was left alone in the silence of the apartment with her husband by her side and her heart tightened by everything she'd just been through.

Killian went to go fetch some ice in the kitchen, in order to relieve the pain in her back. She almost started to panic as he was gone, even if it only lasted for a few minutes, but she calmed down all over again when he came back and started to stroke her hair in a comforting gesture. He stared at her for a while without saying a thing, as if she were coming back from the dead. Then, finally, he kissed her forehead and said in a soft voice.

"We're going to put some ice on your bruises, alright? Are you feeling okay? Aren't you hurting too much?"

She shook her head despite the pain that was still creeping along her back, because she just didn't want him to be more worried than he already was. She moved suddenly, wanting to get rid of the torn dress she was still wearing. It was a reminder of what had happened to her in the woods, and she just never wanted to see it again. She winced while trying to undress, bruised and sore and not even able to put her arms above her head without wanting to scream.

Killian came to help her then, gently taking off the dress and trying not to hurt her even more. He tossed the piece of clothing on the couch of their room, then leaned against the head of the bed and gestured for her to come sit in between his legs, in this position that he loved so much. He carefully placed the ice against the bruises of her back, making her shiver, and he wrapped the other arm around her to hold her close.

"Come here." He said, and she felt her entire being melting as she was resting her head on the crook of his shoulder. "Are you comfortable? Is everything okay?"

She nodded, and his hook came to all naturally rest on her bump. The cold touch against her naked skin was so reassuring, she let go of a little sigh of pure relief. She turned her head to bury her face in his neck, feeling so safe from everything that could ever hurt her. She was going to be okay. She just had to remind herself of that.

It's only much later, as they'd taken the ice away from her but she was still lying in her husband's arms, that she decided to try and talk again. She was feeling so much better, and she was ready to finally speak about everything that had happened, now. She could see the situation clearly, finally, and she wasn't feeling afraid like she'd previously been. She was feeling like herself again at last.

She knew that her voice was back before she even opened her mouth. Her fears had blocked it before, but she was okay now and she was going to tell everything to Killian, so they could find a solution together. "I'm sorry." She then said in a whisper.

Killian startled against her, as he hadn't expected her to start talking that suddenly. He held her a bit closer, dropped a little kiss to her neck and she could feel his relief into her own bones. He stayed silent for a second, then he answered very softly.

"Please, don't apologize, darling. I'm just glad that you and the wee one are okay. That's all that truly matters."

"I really am sorry, anyway." She insisted, still in a very small voice. "I should never have left like that. I didn't think about the consequences, but it was dangerous and I almost hurt the baby."

"You acted on an impulse, love, and I really do get that." He said calmly. "You just wanted to get the tiara back. But you did scare me for a minute there, you know? I'm just so glad to be able to hold you against me right now. I was so scared to lose you both."

His right hand went to meet his hook over her stomach, and he gently caressed her skin, his lips moving to press a little kiss on her cheek. He wavered a bit then, as if worried about making her uncomfortable and sending her right back into this state of silence she'd been trapped in. After a while though, he seemed to make up his mind and he said.

"Would you like to tell me what's happened? If you don't, I get it and it's okay. But I would like to understand, you know?"

Emma took a deep breath, her heart starting to pound furiously once again at the thought that she would have to dive back into the last events, but she was also deeply touched by how thoughtful Killian always was. She wanted to tell him everything, because he deserved to know and she also needed to talk with him about it, because she knew he would manage to soothe her fears. But at the same time, she was worried about his reaction to the news. She was well aware that he was going to be angry. He knew all about what Neal had done to her, and he hated him for that. He was going to be in a rage because of the fact that he was back and had hurt her yet another time.

She then waited for a moment before talking and, after a few seconds, she finally said in a deep voice. "It's Neal."

"Pardon me?" He asked instantly, as if convinced that he hadn't heard correctly.

She violently bit her lower lip, trying to force herself not to start crying once again. Killian moved, sitting down next to her to be able to look into her eyes, and she leaned against the headboard as he was staring at her with a deep frown. She opened her mouth to tell him everything, but a huge shiver made her entire body shake, even if she could tell that it wasn't cold at all in the room. The idea of reliving these moments in the forest was making her feel almost sick, and Killian immediately noticed it. Placing a gentle hand on her arm, he said.

"Are you cold, love? Wait, we're going to fix that."

He stood up to get to the wardrobe, and got a nightgown out of it. She was still quite sore after everything she'd been through, so he helped her to put on the piece of clothing and wrapped her into a thick blanket so she would stop shaking. He settled back beside her, and she just stayed still for a moment, not really knowing what to say. She finally moved to place her head on his shoulder, and he kissed her hair, asking in a low voice.

"Better?"

She nodded, trying to smile but failing, and silence settled in between them for a few more instants. She was so grateful that Killian wasn't trying to push her to tell him everything faster. He was simply waiting for her to be ready, just showing her that he would always stay by her side, and she felt so lucky to have such an amazing man to help her overcome her fears. Finally, she took a deep breath, gathering the courage she needed to continue, and she repeated in a whisper.

"It's Neal. I saw him again."

"I'm afraid I don't understand, love." Killian said kindly. "Where did you see him? How did this happen?"

"The thief. It was him."

Her husband didn't say anything for a little while after that, and she could feel how tense he was next to her. He held her a bit closer, as if to protect her from whatever could try to hurt her once again. He just wanted her to stop suffering, and she could feel how angry he was now that he was learning about what had really happened. After another moment of quiet, he asked, his voice sounding so cold as he was trying to contain his rage.

"What has he done to you?"

"He didn't know who I was when I started to chase him." She explained, one tear rolling down her face without her being able to do anything to stop it. "I tried to catch him and he pushed me out of my saddle. I managed to get him to fall with me and he recognized me and… He left. Again. He didn't even apologize for abandoning me all those years ago."

"Wait, he's the one who's made you fall?" Killian growled then, and she could feel his anger into her own bones.

"He didn't know that I was pregnant, but yeah. He pushed me on purpose. He wanted to get away no matter what, apparently"

Killian stiffened a little bit more, so much that it actually worried her a little bit. He stayed silent and still for a few seconds, his jaw clenched and almost shaking with rage, then he jumped out of bed, startling her slightly. He rushed to their wardrobe, apparently looking for some clothes, but she just couldn't understand what he was trying to do. She sat up, still wrapped in her blanket, and asked in a small voice.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to find this bastard, and I'm going to make him pay for what he did to you. He doesn't deserve to be free out there. Not after hurting you like that."

"Killian..." She started, trying to make him change his mind but he cut her off angrily.

"I just can't let him get away with this, Emma, not again! First he's abandoned you while you were only just a child, and now he's come to steal something from  _our_  home. He's hurt you in so many ways and he hasn't even apologized for it. You've been miserable for years because of him. You've thought that you were worthless, and no one should ever make you feel that way! He didn't give you the love you deserved. He didn't see you as the amazing, perfect woman that you are, and he was stupid enough to make you suffer. I have to show him that this is not alright. I have to make him pay!"

He was panting, drowning in his own rage. Silent tears were streaming down Emma's face as she was looking at him, his words touching her beyond what she could ever have expressed. He loved her and he wanted to prove to her that she would never have to feel unloved again, but she didn't want him to go after Neal. She didn't want him to put himself in danger or risk doing something he would regret later and, honestly, she just wanted to stay in his arms right now. Without him by her side, she felt like she would start panicking all over again and she didn't want that to happen.

So in a voice strangled by her sobs, she replied. "Killian, please don't. Stay. I want you here with me."

His expression changed completely in the span of barely a second. In less than an instant, he was back in the bed with her and gently wiped the tears off her face before taking her back into his loving arms. All his anger had faded away at once to only leave place to pure softness, and he held her very close, dropping several little kisses all over her face as if to prove her that he wasn't going to go anywhere.

"I'm so sorry, love. I promise that I'll stay here, for as long as you wish me to. I'm sorry for getting mad. I just hate him for what he's done to you. I don't want anyone to make you suffer ever again, because you deserve all the happiness the world has to offer. But everything is going to be okay, darling, I promise. You're safe here. I love you."

His words managed to calm her down completely, and he held her for a very long time until her tears had disappeared and she was just snuggled against him in a comfortable silence. And after a while, rocked by his tender embrace, she finally managed to fall asleep and get the rest she so desperately needed after everything she'd been through.

* * *

_The wind is blowing in the trees, unpleasantly slapping her face. She's in the middle of the forest, without knowing how she's ended up there. Intrigued, she spins on herself, trying to understand. It is cold and calm. Rain is falling and tingling her face. And finally, she realizes, confused, that she is back in her former region, in this place that has seen her grow up all on her own._

_She is wearing rags, and the holes in her cloak are making the wind reach her bones. Maybe that's the reason why she's so cold. Looking down, she sees that her bump has disappeared, and that her stomach is perfectly flat. She's too skinny, too frail. She isn't pregnant anymore, or she doesn't know that she is yet. Her hair is longer, tangled and dirty._

_She's seventeen again._

_And she's waiting for Neal, who isn't coming. Who will never come. She just doesn't know that yet._

_The night is slowly settling around her. The bag she's carrying on her shoulder is full of the jewels they stole together, and it seems to weigh a ton. She feels guilty, she has to admit it, but she's also hoping for a better life somewhere else and that's the only thing she's found to reach it. All she has ever wished for is happiness. Maybe she's finally going to find it._

_Steps coming in her direction break her away from her thoughts. She turns, hoping to see her lover finally coming to join her. He probably has a very good reason for being that late, and she isn't angry at him. All that matters is that they're going to run away together. They're going to be fine. She just knows it._

_But several people are there, almost sprinting toward her. She squints, intrigued and suddenly anxious for some reason. Before she can react, she hears someone screaming. "That's her, that's the thief!". She doesn't understand right away. The strangers take her arms and tie her wrists up with a rope. Completely lost, she stutters._

" _I didn't do anything!"_

" _Oh, you didn't, huh? Can you tell me what this is about, then? One of the guards replies, grabbing the bag she's carrying and taking some of the jewels out of it._

" _Where is your partner?" Another one asks, threatening. "Talk!"_

" _I don't know!" She cries out, her voice breaking because of the pain. "He's gone. He's not coming back."_

_She can finally grasp what has just happened. She understands that she's screwed, and that Neal has left her. She feels like throwing up. She feels so alone, and she doesn't know what's going to happen to her, now._

_Then everything goes black. She falls and falls, more and more deeply and never seems to find the ground underneath her. Nothing is real anymore. He left her for real. She's on her own again. She will always be, because she's not worth loving. Everyone in her life has always managed to prove her that._

_A scream rings in her ear, making her shiver. She needs another minute to realize that she's the one who's yelling._

* * *

"Swan? Bloody hell, Emma, wake up! You're having a nightmare, love!"

Someone was vigorously shaking her shoulder, and Killian's voice was ringing to her ears, more and more real as she was coming out of her sleep. She opened her eyes, confused and panicked for a second as she had no idea of what was going on, still half lost in her traumatic memories. Her husband's face was leaning above her and she panted, trying to catch her breath as the oxygen didn't seem able to reach her lungs anymore.

A dream, this had only been a dream and she was okay. A memory actually, a horrible throwback to her childhood, one of the worst moments of her entire life and it was a big thing to say, because she had a lot of those. This had been the moment when she'd understood that the man she loved didn't care at all about her. The moment when the happiness she'd hoped to find had shattered in front of her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Killian asked, placing his hand on her forehead, covered in a cold sweat. "What happened? You were screaming in your sleep."

She wanted to answer him, to tell him about this horrible dream she'd just had, but a violent nausea made her eyes widen and she ran to the bathroom to throw up. Killian stroked her spine and held her hair, as he'd done so often since the beginning of her pregnancy. He helped her to get back on shaky legs, and almost carried her to the bed. Her back was so painful she could have yelled about it, and she was still completely panicked because of her nightmare, as she was feeling like she was still half trapped in it.

Her husband lied down next to her and held her close, gently stroking her hair in a comforting gesture. She felt like her brain wasn't making any sense anymore, because she knew that it'd been a dream but she just couldn't do anything to calm herself down. Hot tears were streaming down her face, and she just couldn't keep them from falling. She couldn't breathe, her voice raspy and broken and her head buried in her husband's neck.

"I was a kid again. Neal was abandoning me. It was like I was back there. It was awful."

"Everything's fine, love." Killian tried to reassure her. "Such a thing will never happen again, that I can promise you. You will never be left all alone, love. This idiot just hasn't been able to see how amazing you are, but I swear to you that I know it and that I will never, ever let you down. I'm in this for the rest of eternity, darling. I swear this to you, and I'm not one for breaking promises. I love you, Gods, Emma. All I want is for you to be happy."

He was well aware that her nightmare was accentuated by what had happened between them a few weeks earlier as well, and by the fact that she'd thought for a moment he was going to leave her too. So he just wanted to prove her that he would never abandon her like Neal had, and that he wouldn't let such a thing happen to her again. He kissed her temple, his hand finding her bump, and she felt herself relaxing a little bit. Still, she only managed to fall back asleep again as the sun was starting to rise in the sky, feeling like life really didn't want her to be happy and she just couldn't do anything about it.

* * *

"Emma?"

"Huh?" She answered absently, her mouth still half full as she was finishing her second plate of porridge.

"Maybe it'd be time to tell everyone about your pregnancy, don't you think?"

She placed her spoon back on the table with a bit of regret, but she was too intrigued to keep on eating and she frowned. She was still hungry – she seemed to always be lately - but now wasn't the time to get some more food. She really wanted to understand what her mom had meant by her last sentence. She squinted and looked at Killian, realizing that he seemed strangely amused for a reason she just couldn't understand.

"What do you mean?" She finally asked in a low voice.

Snow exchanged a smile with David, and it only made her frown even more. They were sharing their breakfast in the main dining room that morning, which hadn't happened in a few long days. One week had passed since her encounter with Neal, and she'd stayed in bed for most of that time, trying to get some rest and not hurt her back even more. She was feeling so much better now, and these peaceful moments spent with Killian in her apartment had finally managed to reassure her completely. She wasn't going to panic anymore. Everything was fine.

This entire story had only been a big coincidence. Henry's birth father was never going to come back into her life, she knew it now. Her son would never have to learn that she'd lied to him about what had happened to Neal, and she could resume a normal life again. She knew that her little boy would be so mad at her if he ever learned the truth, but she'd taken this decision in order to protect him. She just didn't want him to get hurt like she had, and she felt like it was too late to tell him what had truly happened, now. Neal wasn't worth it, anyway. Henry was better off without him.

And Killian was his real father, no matter what. He was the one who'd always been there for him, when he was sad, scared, or to make him laugh when he needed to. They were going to be fine now, she could tell. She just hoped that Regina was soon finally going to leave them alone, and that she could live the peaceful pregnancy she was dreaming of. She had nothing to be afraid of. Everything was going to be okay.

The fact that she'd been able to feel so much better so fast despite everything she'd been through was all thanks to Killian, and she was so damn grateful for him. He'd spent days pampering her, making sure that she was getting the rest she needed and was eating enough, and comforting her when she was having one of those nightmares that were still haunting her. He was her anchor into reality, and she felt like she could finally fight against the demons of her past to live the bright future they all deserved. With him, she was pretty sure she could do anything.

"Well." Snow started again, driving Emma away from her thoughts. "Let's say that you're beginning to show, honey. I don't want the citizens to start wondering what's going on, and think that we're hiding things from them. Maybe it'd be a good idea to tell them the truth, don't you think?"

Emma winced slightly at that, resting her hand over her bump. Her mother was right and she knew it, but she didn't know how to feel about her last statement. She just couldn't believe how fast her stomach was growing, and she was already feeling so heavy and clumsy most of the time. If she was of course so happy to notice that her baby seemed to be doing so well in there, she really felt awkward in her own body and didn't even dare to imagine how things were going to be when she would hit the last months of the pregnancy. Luckily, the tailor of the palace had worked on making her new pants that she could wear, what was at least allowing her to be a little bit more comfortable in her own clothes. Still, she was feeling like a whale and her mother's words weren't making the situation any better.

Killian knew exactly how awkward she was feeling though, and he wouldn't stop telling her that she was beautiful. She knew that he wasn't lying about that, but his opinion was clearly biased. He loved her, and he was so happy about this baby that was coming into their lives that he just couldn't notice her swollen ankles, her waist that was widening and all these uncomfortable changes that she was going through. He would just tell her that she was stunning when they would make love at night, eyes shining with so much love that she even believed him sometimes. He could also spend literal hours simply talking to her stomach, communicating with their child and already creating this unbreakable bond between a father and his kid.

These little intentions he always had toward her were actually helping her a lot. Besides, everyone, even those who didn't know that she was expecting yet, would always tell her that she was glowing. But she still knew that she had to listen to her mother. Her little bump was starting to get noticeable underneath her clothes, and the people deserved to know. It was time.

They'd decided to wait for as long as they possibly could before telling the citizens about the good news, because of everything that had been going on recently. If Regina already knew about her pregnancy, everyone learning about it as well was only going to risk putting her and the baby in danger. And they didn't want that to happen. They just wanted it to be safe.

And then there had been this entire story with Neal, her panic attacks and fear of him coming back for good, and they hadn't wanted to share this little spark of happiness that was helping them get through all of this. But life was going on, and they needed to tell everyone, now. She was refusing to let her fears take control over her future. Nobody was going to take away her happiness of being a mom again. She was going to protect her family, no matter what it would take, and this was never going to change.

"Don't look like that, love." Killian chuckled at her expression. "It means that the baby is healthy and well in there, and that's good news, isn't it?"

"Of course it is." She said, making a little face and he laughed again. "But given how fast it's growing, I'll probably end up being the size of this castle before the end of the pregnancy."

It made him shake his head in amusement, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders to bring her closer and kiss her temple, making her sigh in happiness. Despite everything, he would always manage to make her feel better. He then whispered against her skin, so she was the only one to hear.

"You're the most gorgeous woman I've ever laid my eyes on, Swan."

"Why is this surprising?" Henry then asked out of the blue, curious. Weren't things the same when you were pregnant with me, Mom?"

"Let's say that it's been a while, kid." She answered with a very small smile. "I don't remember everything. I'm still fairly sure that I wasn't showing that early for you, though. That's why I'm so surprised."

"I just wished that the little bean would stop making you feel uncomfortable, Swan." Killian sighed, looking almost sorry about the situation. "But you look so beautiful, and I'm so glad to see that it's growing just fine, you know?"

"Me too." She admitted at last, her smile widening a bit. "And it's not a big deal. If feeling awkward is the price to pay for the little one to be healthy, I'll do it gladly. And you're right, Mom." She added, turning to Snow and her smile not leaving her. "We should tell the citizens before they start noticing that something's going on."

And that's how the next day, Emma found herself standing on this famous balcony once again, her voice accentuated by her own magic and facing the kingdom as everyone was gathered in the streets. She was wearing a long, white dress that was doing nothing to hide her bump, but no one had seemed to notice her new appearance just yet. She smiled, feeling the sun on her skin and Killian's hand holding hers tightly, as he seemed absolutely overexcited by the news they were about to share. This moment was absolutely prefect, and she wanted to remember it forever.

Even if it was somehow a bit scary to finally tell everyone about the baby, it was also making everything so real. They were having a child and they could now share their happiness with everyone, and she couldn't help but smile at these thoughts. She was feeling like her heart was twice its usual size, and she just couldn't wait to see the people's reaction. She wished she could have frozen these few minutes in order to replay them forever in her mind, because she was so happy on that moment it felt almost unreal.

"Thank you all for coming today." Snow began, smiling widely as well. "We gathered you here because we have a very special thing to tell you. Emma, Killian? You guys want to continue?"

Emma exchanged looks with her husband, still grinning from ear to ear, and he nodded once to encourage her. She then turned back to the crowd at her feet, tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and enjoyed the calm and happy moment for a second, watching all these people that had come to hear what they had to say. Then finally, she stated cheerfully.

"We wanted to wait for a while before telling you what is going on, to make sure that everything really is okay. But now, it's more than time for you to finally learn the truth. So, here we go… In a few months, a new family member is going to join us here at the castle."

She smiled at Henry as he seemed like the happiest little boy to finally be able to tell everyone about his new sibling. The citizens started to share whispers, as if to make sure that they'd understood correctly, and Emma decided that a gesture was worth a million words. She then turned toward her husband, placing a hand on her bump to stress the change. The whispers became stronger, happier and, all of the sudden, it transformed into a wave of cheering.

Everyone looked so happy she thought that her heart was going to burst. The few faces she could see from where she was standing were all smiling brightly, and she giggled at that as Killian was wrapping his left arm around her and placing his hand over hers on her stomach. They looked at each other for a second, then he leaned to reached her lips and they shared a long, tender kiss as everyone was still clapping to welcome to new member of the royal family.

* * *

They'd received what had seemed like hundreds of congratulations letter after their big announcement, that had quickly traveled all around the Enchanted Forest. Everyone was so glad for them, and Emma couldn't have been happier to see that this baby was so loved already. The kingdom even stayed in this kind of amazing, careless atmosphere for a while. And she was so happy she couldn't even believe it sometimes.

The memories of Killian leaving because of the Dark One, and of Neal coming back in her life seemed so far away, now. She couldn't help but smile at all time, and she wasn't scared anymore. She was surrounded, loved, she had an amazing son that she loved beyond everything, a husband with whom she was sharing true love, parents who would have supported her through anything and a new baby coming in a little while. She could spend hours imagining what the little one would look like, with its daddy's blue eyes and dimples, and the most incredible smile in the entire world.

This happiness shattered out of nowhere, as she was least expecting it.

The day had started well, and her smile hadn't wavered once since she'd opened her eyes. That afternoon, Henry, Killian and her had decided to take a little walk through the city to enjoy the amazing weather. Despite Regina's threat that was still hanging above their heads, even if they couldn't quite see it right now, Emma was refusing to let her fears command her. Life was going on, and she didn't want to hide. She just wanted to enjoy her time with her family, and the happiness to know that at least her unborn child was already so loved.

She was feeling anything but beautiful right now, but her bump was still small enough for it not to be too uncomfortable. The bruises in her back had become nothing more than a bad memory, and the baby's weight was still too light for it to really be a problem. She was feeling so good, too. Full of energy, and she just wanted to take advantage of it, because she was well aware that this probably wasn't going to last for much longer.

They were walking through the streets of the city, looking at the shop windows and smiling at the citizens that would congratulate them for the new baby to come. Killian was so tender with her, holding her hand and kissing her temple every few minutes. His eyes would start shining every time Henry would call him to draw his attention, and he just seemed like the happiest he'd ever been.

Everything crumbled as they were coming back to the castle.

The day had been so calm and joyful that this event hit her like a punch in the face. Her smile already started to disappear when she saw her mother approaching them in the main hall, as she could tell that something was very obviously wrong. Snow didn't seem like her usual self, and Emma wrapped a protective arm around Henry, to keep him safe from whatever was happening again. She didn't know what it was yet, but she could tell that she wasn't going to like it. And suddenly, she was scared.

The Queen was frowning, and she didn't give them the time to ask any questions, starting quickly "Emma, there's a man in the common room who wants to talk to you."

Intrigued, she shared a glance with Killian, not understanding what was going on. Snow looked at Henry a little bit nervously, what the little boy luckily didn't seem to notice. She waited for a second, then she added in a lower voice, as if she were scared of someone else hearing her.

"He says he's the one who stole the tiara."

Emma's heart skipped a beat at that, and she suddenly felt like she was going to throw up. Her mother's reaction was making so much sense now, as she knew that the man was Neal and that Henry didn't know about him at all. She didn't want to spill the secret, and Emma was grateful for it. Still, she had no idea of what she was supposed to do, now that one of her biggest nightmares seemed to be becoming real.

Neal was back. She'd thought that he would be too much of a coward to face her again, but she'd very obviously been wrong. She felt Killian stiffening beside her and, in the panicked fog that was invading her mind, her first reaction was to protect her son from all of this. He couldn't know that she'd lied to him for all this time, he would hate her for it and she wasn't sure that she would be able to handle such a thing. He just couldn't learn about it that way. This couldn't be happening.

Her voice shaking a little bit, she then leaned to talk to him. "Can you go up in the library while we take care of this, kiddo? We don't know what's happening, and I don't want to drag you into this. You'll be safe up there."

Frowning as if he could tell that she wasn't telling him the entire truth, he looked at Killian, who nodded once to encourage him. He then shrugged and didn't add anything, looking a bit annoyed but disappearing in the staircase anyway as he probably knew that protesting wouldn't be of any use.

Emma looked up at her husband as soon as their son was out of sight, feeling like she was going to collapse at any given moment. Killian immediately noticed it, and he wrapped his arm around her waist to hold her up as her legs were quivering underneath her. He cupped her cheek and looked into her eyes, saying very gently.

"Love, breathe. I know that this is so hard, but we're going to deal with this and make him leave, okay? He won't ever hurt you again. This will soon become nothing more than a bad memory, I promise."

Emma nodded at that, and forced herself to take some deep breaths and calm down. The baby needed her to, and she was well aware that her husband was right. They were going to make him leave, and then they would be okay. Sighing, she placed her head on Killian's shoulders for a few seconds as he was holding her close, letting his touch comfort her and give her the strength she needed to do this. It was going to be hard, but if she never saw Neal in her life again after that, it was more than worth it.

Seeing that she was struggling, he gently kissed the top of her head and offered. "Do you want me to go in there alone, darling? I just don't want you to get hurt. I promise he won't be back after what I'm going to say to him."

The suggestion was more than appealing, but Emma still shook her head and answered. "I have to do this myself. I need to, in order to finally move on. Besides, I have to make sure that you won't punch him in the face during this conversation, right?" She added with a very small smile, trying to reassure the both of them with this simple little joke.

"I can't promise you anything, lass." He smiled back, even if it didn't reach his eyes. "He would definitely deserve it."

She took one more second to pull herself together, but this little discussion with her husband had managed to give her the confidence she'd been lacking before. She needed to face this man that had hurt her so much, in order to embrace the bright future that was awaiting for her and her family. Snow, who had listened to their conversation, placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder to show her support and stated.

"We're going to leave you two alone with him, it's probably better that way. If you need anything, we'll be right there."

"Thanks, Mom." Emma said, trying but failing to smile.

Killian's fingers interlaced with hers, and he stared at her for a few seconds as Snow was walking away, as if to make sure that she was okay.  _Everything is going to be just fine, love_ , she could hear him say in silence. He didn't push her, he just waited for her to be ready and face this shadow of her past, and she felt so thankful to have him by her side, always. Still, she could feel how angry he still was about what Neal had done to her, but he was trying to hide this from her and give her the strength she needed so desperately.

At last, she took a deep breath and nodded. It was time.

They both walked to the common room, still hand in hand, her heart beating so fast in her chest she felt like he could hear it too. She recognized Neal's figure before even seeing his face, and she felt like she couldn't breathe anymore. Guards were surrounding him to prevent him from running away, but they left without a word when they saw her and Killian coming in. And then, just like that, they were left alone with this man that had once almost broken her.

Killian's touch seemed like the only thing that was able to anchor her into reality. Everything was spinning around her, and she blinked a few times, just trying to stay on her own two feet. Neal immediately approached her, not even seeming to notice her husband's presence in the room with them. A shiver ran up her spine when their eyes met and, for an insane second, all she wanted to do was run away as far as possible. She hated him. She hated him for hurting her like this, and for his cowardliness. And on that moment, she hated her younger self for trusting him and not managing to protect her own heart.

"Emma." He then started in a strangely distorted voice. "I needed to come back here. I just arrived in the region, and I'd heard that you were the princess before, but I just couldn't believe it. What they say is true though, and I really need to talk to you."

"About what?" She asked dryly, not even managing to look at him in the eyes without wanting to punch him in the face. "Don't you think it's a bit too late to have a conversation?"

"Well, you need to understand the reason why I left. I just need to tell you everything."

"Are you talking about when you pushed me out of my horse, or about when you abandoned me while I was only just a child? You left more than once, Neal. I can't believe that you never even apologized for it."

"Wait, you're still mad at me about that?" He said, looking sincerely surprised, and she swore that she had to hold herself back from hitting the closest wall. "Emma, it was more than twelve years ago. I thought that you were over it."

"What the hell do you mean by that?" She raised her voice, feeling so angry that her head was spinning a little bit. "You destroyed everything! I can't believe how much of an asshole you are. I can't believe that you don't even feel a little bit sorry about what you've done!"

He opened his mouth to answer something, his cheeks reddened by the anger, but he didn't have the time to do so. Killian suddenly pulled away from her to take a step toward her ex-lover, standing so close to him that she thought for an insane second that he was going to punch him. Not that Neal wouldn't have deserved it, but she was well aware that using violence wasn't going to resolve anything. They needed to talk about this, but she was feeling like she was having a conversation with a wall. He wasn't listening. He couldn't even see all the pain he'd created, and it was driving her crazy.

Killian was slightly taller than Neal, and Henry's birth father shrank for an instant. But then, out of nowhere, his expression changed completely and his mouth gaped open in surprise. Emma frowned, taken aback by his strange behavior, but her attention was drawn by her husband again as he was growling threateningly.

"You should be sorry,  _mate_. Can't you even realize how much you hurt her when you left her to rot in jail? She was only a child, and you abandoned her. You made her feel unloved and worthless, and gods help me, I will never forgive you for that. Don't you realize that instead of taking care of her heart, like you should have done, you broke it? You should be on your knees, begging for her forgiveness right now. You shouldn't even be here, actually. You should be hiding somewhere, too ashamed of yourself to go out, because you've made her suffer and for that, you don't deserve anyone's respect."

Emma was expecting Neal to start protesting and defending himself against all of those accusations. Killian was mad, and she wasn't about to stop him from saying all those things, because he wasn't wrong. But the man she'd once trusted frowned, and finally asked in a very low voice after a few seconds of thick silence.

"Hook?"

She felt her husband shivering at this moniker that he'd given up so long ago, and that was reminding him of his painful past. She just couldn't understand anything that was going on anymore. Everyone in the kingdom knew about Killian's past, because he'd chosen to be honest with them and she was so proud of him for that. Neal shouldn't have been surprised to see him there, since every citizen knew who he'd once been.

But she suddenly remembered what he'd said at the beginning of their conversation. He'd just arrived in the region. He hadn't even been sure that she really was the princess before seeing her, so he couldn't know that Killian was the prince. He'd probably been hiding somewhere for all this time, and hadn't been able to follow the news that had traveled around the entire Enchanted Forest. But then again, something was feeling strange. His surprise seemed stronger than it should have been, as if he actually knew Killian personally. It was obvious that it wasn't her husband's case though, and he just shook his head and asked, looking just as lost as she was.

"Nobody calls me that way anymore. Have we met?"

"It's me." Neal insisted, a smile appearing on his face, the gesture so unexpected that Emma actually startled. "Don't you recognize me? It's Baelfire."

It wasn't making any sense, and she wanted to pinch herself to see if she wasn't having a nightmare again. This was all just so strange. He'd just pronounced this name that she'd never heard before, and if she was sure of one thing, it was that he was called Neal. And yet, Killian's expression changed as well, going from pure anger to actual surprise. He shook his head, stared at her ex-lover, and finally asked as if he'd just seen a ghost.

"Baelfire?"

"I don't get it." She said in a small voice, feeling an awful anxiety arise in her. "Your name is Neal. How do you two know each other?"

"I lied about my name." He explained casually, as if it weren't a big deal, and the world started to spin around her once again. He'd really lied about everything, his love, his past, his name, and it felt like the last small parts of her childhood that hadn't been ruined yet were now shattering in front of her eyes. "When I ran away from Neverland, I wanted to start anew. I took a new name, and never told anyone about it so my father wouldn't be able to find me."

"Your father?" She whimpered. "What do you mean? You're an orphan."

"He's the Dark One's son." Killian then spat out, the anger seeming to take over him once again.

He turned to her then, and wrapped his arm back around her waist, noticing that she was about to collapse under the weight of all these insane revelations. Everything had been a lie, and she was feeling so stupid for believing him, and thinking that he could understand her and her past. He'd just done all of this to get her into his bed for all she knew, and she wanted to be sick with it. Too exhausted to even stand straight, she rested her head on her husband's shoulder again. She felt like the simple fact of breathing had become impossible, and she didn't know how she would be able to keep on going.

After making sure that she was alright, Killian started to talk again, in a voice so deep and full of anger that it was barely recognizable. "You had such a good heart, when you were a boy. What happened to you? When I gave you to the Lost Boys – and believe me, I still regret this to this day – I had no idea that you were going to hurt all of these people. If only I'd known that you were going to make the woman I love suffer… How could you do this, Baelfire?"

"I don't understand." Emma repeated, in such a low voice that she wasn't sure they'd heard her, and Killian wrapped his second arm around her to hold her up.

Seeing that she was shaking too much to keep on standing up, he gently led her to the closest chair. She almost collapsed on it, everything too blurry for her to really know what she was doing. He knelt in front of her, turning his back to Neal – or Baelfire, she didn't even know anymore. He cupped her cheek, and his blue eyes seemed like a lighthouse in the middle of a storm.

"I'm so sorry, love." He said very gently. "I had no idea of who he really was, or I would have told you. Baelfire lived on my ship for a while back in Nerverland. He ended up getting mad when he learned that I'd been in a relationship with Milah, his mother. I gave him to the Lost Boys, what I'm far from being proud of. I just.. Emma, are you alright, lass?"

All these sudden revelations were crashing in her brain, forming an impossible chaos that was making her want to throw up. She was feeling a migraine blooming behind her eyes, and she just didn't know what to do with herself anymore. She looked down, taking her head in between her hands and just trying to take some deep breaths and calm down. The baby needed her to be fine. She was refusing for it to get even more hurt because of this entire mess.

Her husband had known this man that had hurt her so much, and she just couldn't believe it. It wasn't what was truly hurting her, though. She knew that Killian was telling the truth and that he truly hadn't known who Neal really was for all this time. What was making her feel like she was going to turn insane was the fact that her ex-lover really had lied about everything. She'd trusted a liar, and she just couldn't believe that everything she'd thought true had been nothing but an invention of his twisted mind.

"I wanted to come here for a good reason, Emma." Neal continued, as if unable to notice that she was about to lose it for good. "You see, I don't know if I'm wanted for stealing the tiara. You have to understand that I have nowhere to go, and I just needed the money I could get from it to survive. I wanted to ask you if you could maybe try to convince your parents to drop the charges against me? I promise you will never hear from me again after this. I just don't want to end up in a cell..."

"Are you bloody serious?" Killian then snapped, standing up and going to face Neal again, his voice threatening and deep. "After everything you've done to her, you want her to protect you? But who do you think you are, exactly?"

His fists were clenched, and he seemed about to hit him in the face. Emma was feeling too exhausted to try and convince him not to. Deep down, she wanted Neal to get hurt, she wanted him to suffer like she had. She wanted him to know what she'd gone through, to punish him for all the pain he'd created, because she just couldn't do this anymore.

But Killian was stopped by the sound of the door opening behind them. They heard quick steps coming in their direction and, before they could turn and see who had entered the room, Snow's voice rang in the space, panting and sounding a bit panicked.

"Gods, Emma, I'm so sorry! I tried to stop him but… He heard screams, and he wanted to make sure that everything was okay."

She knew what was happening before actually seeing it, and her breath got stuck in her throat yet another time. She turned slowly, Killian doing the same and hoping that this wasn't real. She just wanted all of this to be a nightmare.

Henry was now standing there, looking angry and ready for a fight without even knowing what was truly happening. Emma stood up as he was approaching them, realizing what was going to happen now. All she wanted was for this to stop.

Her son was going to learn that she'd lied to him. He was going to discover the truth, and something was telling her that he wasn't going to be happy about the fact that his father was alive and well, and that she'd simply invented this entire story. That everything he'd thought true since the day he was born had only been a lie.

She wanted to cry.


	39. Chapter 39

"Are you the one who hurt my mother?" Henry asked in a deep voice Emma could barely recognize, breaking the panicked silence that had settled in the room.

He took a few steps forward to approach Neal, his fists clenched, looking so angry and ready for a fight even though his opponent was about twice his size. Killian however stopped him before he could try anything, taking his arm to hold him back so he wouldn't do something that he would obviously regret later. His voice stayed amazingly gentle, but he was serious when he started to talk.

"We told you to stay in the library, lad. Go back there. You don't have to be a part of this."

"I heard screams." The little boy defended himself, looking almost offended by the fact his father didn't want him to help with whatever was happening. "And this man made you fall on purpose, Mom. He has to pay for it. Why isn't he in a cell already? That's all he deserves. He can't get away with what he's done."

Emma was panicking so much she felt like she couldn't breathe properly anymore. She had no idea of what the hell she was supposed to do. She had to convince Henry to get out of this room before he risked learning the truth, because that would be a disaster. She was going to tell him everything sooner than later, she didn't have a choice anymore now that Neal was back anyway. But she needed to do this calmly, in their apartment, with Killian by her side to try and not worsen the situation even more. Not like this. Not in front of this man that had broken her heart in a million little pieces, and had no clue that he had a child. This wasn't right.

"You have a son?" Neal then asked, frowning and sensing that something strange was obviously going on. He really didn't know anything about the royal family as he'd stayed hidden for so long, Emma could feel it and she just wished that it could stay that way.

She then decided to take control over this insane situation. Her ex-lover didn't know who Henry was, and learning that he had a son like this wasn't the right way to do it. He was a bastard, a selfish asshole, but he wasn't stupid. He was going to understand everything before she could have a chance to explain herself, if Henry stayed in the room. And her little boy couldn't witness this conversation. She just had to get him out of there.

She then walked to approach him, placing her hands on his shoulders and trying to stay calm even if she could feel her heart pounding so fast in her chest it was almost painful. She looked into his eyes, wanting to seem confident for him to finally listen, and she said firmly.

"Henry, I need you to go back upstairs, right now. It's important that you stay there."

"But Mom..." He tried to protest once again.

"Don't. Just go, kid. Please."

"He's your son." Neal said again, but this time it wasn't a question. He was frowning and added after a few seconds of thick silence. "You have a child."

She exchanged terrified looks with her husband, as he seemed as panicked as she was all of the sudden. Seeing that her son still wasn't willing to listen to her, she forced him to turn away and gently pushed him toward the door of the room, just wishing that he would actually do as she was saying for once. Her stomach was in knots and she was feeling horribly sick. He had to get out. The truth couldn't be thrown at his face like this, or he would hate her forever for it and she wouldn't be able to stand it.

"Wait! How old are you?" Neal insisted, talking to Henry this time as Emma was trying to ignore him.

"Don't pay attention to him." She said to her son, as they'd almost got to the door of the room.

"How old are you?" Neal repeated, yelling this time and making everyone in the room startle.

Henry managed to get away from his mother's grip then, and he took three steps back, looking so confused and angry with the situation as he just couldn't understand what the hell was happening. Emma already knew that her try had failed, and that everyone was going to learn that she had lied, right there. She wanted to cry. She wanted to run away. She wanted to be anywhere but in this room to witness her world crumbling yet another time.

"I'm twelve! Stop yelling at me!"

Neal stayed still for a second at that as if trying to process these information, before looking up at Emma, his eyes shining with what seemed like a mix of confusion and rage. He'd already understood though, she could tell. Killian came to stand beside her, as if to help her with his presence by her side and stop her from collapsing under all this stress. She didn't have control over anything anymore, and it was driving her crazy.

Neal looked straight into her eyes, and repeated in a whisper. "He's twelve."

Henry turned to look at Emma, not understanding anything anymore and she felt tears filling in her eyes as she just didn't know what to answer to this statement. Seeing their son's distress, Killian tried to place a comforting hand on his shoulder, but their little boy gently pulled away from him and kept on looking into Emma's eyes, as if trying to find the truth in them.

"Mom?" he asked in a small, broken voice.

She just couldn't say anything, and the silence was so thick around them she thought that she was going to scream. Everything was about to explode, she could tell as Henry seemed to slowly be grasping how important the situation was. Tears were streaming down her face now, but she just couldn't care about it. She saw Killian looking down in defeat, as he knew exactly what was about to happen. And then Neal started to talk again, stuttering a bit as if he couldn't believe in his own insane words.

"Is he _my_ son?"

"What? Of course not!" Henry replied immediately, as if Neal was completely stupid. "Killian is my dad. My birth father died before I was even born. He was killed in a fight as he was trying to save someone. He was a hero."

He interrupted himself then, searching into his mom's eyes for the confirmation that what he was saying was true. She just couldn't lie to him anymore, it would only make things even worse, so she stayed silent instead and tried not to sob too loudly. He knew now, and everything was her fault. She should have told him the truth the first time he'd asked a question about his birth dad. She should never have invented this damn story, but it was too late now and she had to face the consequences of this choice that she'd made so long ago.

Seeing her tears, Henry stuttered, as if trying to hold onto this lie just for a little bit longer "That's what you told me. That my biological father was dead. It's the truth, right? Tell me it is. You said..."

"Is he my son?" Neal insisted, more aggressively this time as if to force her to give him an answer at last.

A sob shook her shoulders, so hard that it actually hurt her. They knew already, it was obvious, but they also needed to hear it from her. She just couldn't run away from this, not after lying for so long. She was trapped, and she wanted to yell. Everything was ruined once again, and she couldn't do anything but watch as her entire world was being turned upside down once more.

And so she did the only thing left to do. She approached Henry again, cupped his face and looked straight into his eyes. He was gently shaking his head, knowing the answer to Neal's question already but refusing to believe that this was real and that his mom, the person he trusted the most in the entire world, had lied to him for all this time.

In a very soft voice, a bit broken by her own tears and without looking at Neal at all, she then said. "Yes."

She vaguely heard Neal gasping in her back, but all her attention was on her son, so much that she was almost forgetting the rest of the world around her. Killian moved, standing in between his family and the one he called Baelfire, as if to protect them from her ex-lover. Henry looked at her for a long time, not able to believe in what she'd told him. Then, very slowly, he took a few steps back to get away from her, and he whispered in a voice so broken by the betrayal that she thought she was going to collapse.

"I can't believe this."

He turned away from her then, running to the door to go hide in his room. To get away from her, she realized, and it broke her heart in half. She ran after him, calling him back because she just couldn't let him leave like that. She had to talk with him about her decision to lie and explain why she'd made this choice so long ago. She needed to apologize to him. She couldn't accept the possibility of their amazing relationship getting ruined by this. All because of her. This just couldn't happen.

But Neal moved as well, so fast that she wasn't able to do anything about it. He walked past Killian and grabbed her arm to stop her from running away as well. His nails were digging into her skin, hurting her, and she let go of a little gasp of pain. He however didn't seem to care about it. He was looking at her with so much hate shining in his eyes that, for a second, she though that he was actually going to slap her.

"What do you mean, he's my son?" He growled. "How could you hide this from me for so long?"

"Get away from her!" Killian said as she was finally getting away from him. "Don't you dare touch her!"

She took three steps back as her husband was standing a bit before her, to stop Neal from coming any closer once again. All her distress had faded away at once, to be replaced by pure rage at his words. How dared he talk to her like this, after everything he'd done? She was feeling guilty about lying to Henry, but her ex-lover was a bad person and she just didn't want her son to have anything to do with such a man.

"You left me!" She yelled back, so hard that her voice broke a little bit. "You would have wanted me to run after you and tell you that you'd knocked me up, maybe? You disappeared into thin air and because of you, I had to rot in a cell for months, pregnant while I was myself only just a child! If I'd known where you had gone, I still wouldn't have come after you, believe me. I never wanted to see you again after what you'd done to me, and I still don't want to have anything to do with you!"

"That's exactly where the problem is!" He shouted, taking one step toward her but Killian threateningly wielded his hook in front of his face, making him stop at once. "I have a son, and I didn't even know about him! How can't you see how wrong this is? You've lied to him for years! Do you think it makes you a good person? A good mom? Because it doesn't!"

"That's enough!" Killian then intervened, obviously deciding that this had to stop.

He walked to this man that was still managing to hurt her after all those years, and grabbed his wrist to drag him toward the door. Her ex-lover fought a bit, but Killian was obviously stronger and he called for the guards that were standing outside of the room, asking firmly.

"I think that he needs to spend a little bit of time in a cell, in order to calm down. Leave him there for as long as it takes for him to stop being such a bastard."

"Alright." One of the guards immediately nodded, grabbing Neal's free arm as he was still trying to get away from his opponents.

"You can't do this!" Henry's birth father yelled. "I'm not the bad guy in this story! Let me go!"

He kept on shouting and protesting as he was being taken away from the room, but Emma just couldn't pay any attention to it. She felt like she was about to crumble, and Killian immediately came back to her, cupping her cheek in order to force her to come back to reality. His blue eyes seemed like the only real things in her surroundings as she was still crying uncontrollably. He gently stroked her skin with his thumb and asked.

"Are you okay, love?"

Sh finally allowed herself to let everything out, and her tears grew even stronger as she was collapsing against her husband's chest, letting him hold her up while she was sobbing with all the strength that she had left. He was holding her so tightly that he was almost lifting her up from the ground. His hand ran through her hair, and he spoke in a low voice, shaking a bit as he was so pained to see her in such a deep state of distress.

"Breathe, my love. It's okay. He's gone. You'll be alright. I promise."

"Henry… he's… He's gonna hate me." She sobbed into his neck while he was gently leading her to the closest chair, as it was becoming obvious that she just couldn't stand on her own two feet anymore.

He knelt in front of her and placed his hook on her knee and his hand on her bump. Somehow, this sweet gesture managed to calm her down just a little bit. In a very gentle voice, he started to talk again and she felt like listening to him was the only thing that could actually heal her broken heart right now.

"He's mad, but he doesn't hate you, darling. This will never happen, believe me. You are his mom, and he loves you so, so much. You've done this to protect him. He will understand it eventually."

"What if you're wrong?" She said in between her tears. "What if I lied about this too, and I've made this choice to protect myself, because I was selfish and Neal's memories were too painful for me to answer Henry's questions? He's going to hate me for it, and he'll probably be right to."

"That is not true, and I know that you know it deep down." He gently objected. "And even if you'd done this for yourself… You're human, my Swan. You make mistakes, like everyone. It happens, and he will forgive you. And you weren't wrong to try and keep this man away from our boy. Aside from hurting everyone, he can't do anything. Henry is better off without him."

He rose just a bit in order to drop a little kiss to her forehead, and the touch of his lips was so reassuring she let go of a little sigh of relief. She felt like her sobs were finally calming down a bit and she could breathe again at last. He looked back into her eyes, his hand still resting protectively over her bump, and he continued in a soothing tone.

"You're doing great, lass. The baby needs you to be alright, aye? I just want you to be happy, and I promise that you will be."

She nodded slowly, sniffing as she was trying to pull herself together. She knew that he was right. She needed to be okay. Killian's thumb was caressing her skin from above her clothes and she felt like breathing was becoming easier and easier, finally. She needed to be calm in order to go talk to Henry, anyway. She needed to explain the reason why she'd made this choice, and apologize for hurting him, because she'd never wanted for such a thing to happen. She needed to be strong, for him. This was the least she could do after lying for so long.

Seeing that she was settled down at last, Killian held out his hand for her to take, reading her mind as she wanted to go talk to their son as soon as possible. She knew that the conversation she was about to have with their little boy wasn't going to be an easy one. She'd read in his eyes how betrayed he'd felt, and he wasn't going to forgive her that easily. She just hoped that he would eventually, because she just couldn't stand him hating her for this choice she'd made so long ago. She just wanted them to be a happy family again. And on that moment, she felt like it would never be possible and she wanted to be sick with it.

* * *

"Henry." Emma began softly, opening the door of her son's room and her heart pounding so fast in her chest she thought that it could burst.

Killian was right beside her, his presence keeping her sane as she was feeling like she could have turned insane. Their little boy was sitting on his bed, and barely bothered to look up when her heard her, as if he just couldn't stand to see her right now. It broke her heart, and when she finally managed to meet his gaze, she thought that she was going to start crying again at what she could read in it. He was very obviously in a rage, and she couldn't even be mad at him about it. She just wanted for all of this to be a nightmare, and to finally wake up from it.

She managed to pull herself together though, because she needed to stay strong. She then walked to him and sat down on the edge of his bed, her husband leaning against the wall and looking at the both of them with a worried frown etched on his face. Henry moved a bit away from her, as if feeling her close was unbearable. It made her want to yell in pain.

"Kid, I..." She stuttered, trying to find the right words to begin this awful conversation. "I get that you're angry."

"Good." He said in a cold tone she'd never heard him use before, and a shiver ran up her spine. "Because I am. And I have every right to be."

"I know. And that's why I came to apologize. I made a mistake by deciding to lie to you, and I am so sorry about it."

"Why did you do this in the first place?" He asked dryly. "Why did you hide the truth from me? I'm strong. I'm not a baby anymore. I could have understood."

"Because it was a part of my life I was refusing to dive back into." She admitted, tears shining in her eyes as she just couldn't hold them back anymore. "I told myself that I was doing this to protect you for years, but… The truth is I mostly did it for myself. I can finally see it now, and I am sorry. I truly am. I should have told you what had really happened since the beginning, because you deserve the truth. I should never have lied to you."

He still seemed so horribly angry, but he looked straight into her eyes for a long time, as if trying to find the words to express his feelings. Killian was still standing there, motionless and silent, and she guessed that he wanted to let them have this conversation just the two of them, and would only intervene if he absolutely needed to. She felt truly thankful about it. She needed to talk to her son herself, because she was the one who had made this choice to invent this entire story, and she needed to fix this mess that she'd created now.

Henry ended up starting to talk again, still coldly but a spark of curiosity now shining deep into his eyes. "What's the real story, then?"

Emma took a deep breath, finally ready to dive back into this painful past she would have wanted to forget completely. But her son deserved to now what had truly occurred after all those years spent at believing in a lie, and she had to do this. For him. She just hoped that he would actually forgive her for the choice she'd made one day.

"I was only a child myself when I met Neal. I felt like we were understanding each other, because he was all alone in the world too, just like I was. We stole for a while in order to survive, doing small crimes and managing to live together as outlaws. One day, we decided to steal a bunch of jewelry, to be able to sell them, change region and start anew together. But he never came to our meeting. I waited for him, and he let me take the entire blame for the thefts we'd done. I got locked up in a cell, and I discovered that I was pregnant with you while I was there. I never saw him again after that, not until now anyway."

Emma purposely didn't talk about everything she'd been through because of her ex-lover. The feeling of not being enough, the pain, the terror during these horrible months spent in her cold, damp cell. She placed her hand on her bump, as if trying to comfort herself. She didn't want to tell Henry how much Neal had hurt her, and how horrible he was as a person. Not that her son's birth father wouldn't have deserved it, but she wanted her son to make his own opinion about this man that he didn't know. He needed to do this himself.

Henry stayed silent for a while, thinking. Then he turned back to her, and she could see how dark his eyes seemed because of the anger that was still growing like a poison inside of him. She almost startled, surprised as she'd never seen him like this. He started to talk again, and she could hear in his voice how much he hated her on this moment. She just wanted to bury herself under her blankets and never get out there in the world again. She wanted to sleep forever, so she didn't have to face everything that was going wrong in her life because of her own damn decisions.

"Were you planning on actually telling me the truth, one day?"

"I don't know." She admitted, determined to be completely honest now because she knew that another lie would only have made things even worse. "Maybe. I just didn't want to think about what had happened back then. It was too painful."

"You seem to hate him."

"It's complicated, kid." She sighed, not really sure about her own feelings toward this man that had broken her heart. "He made me go through hell. I'm mad at him."

"Well, I'm mad at _you_." He then spat out, taking her by surprise with the violence of his tone. "You hate him, but you're no better than him. You're a liar. I thought that I could trust you, but I was wrong, apparently."

She needed a second to realize that she wasn't breathing anymore. His words were ringing in her ears, making her nauseous and she thought that she was going to scream. So, this was what her son was now thinking of her. He believed that she wasn't any better than this birth father he yet knew nothing about. He thought that he couldn't trust her anymore. And she couldn't even be mad at him for his harsh and hurtful words. She was the only one to blame for this, and perhaps she deserved this kind of treatment after all, given what she'd done. And she was hating herself, so much.

"Henry!" Killian then said, feeling that the situation was getting out of hand and wanting to do something about it. "Don't talk to your mum like this. You're angry, and you're entitled to your own feelings. But Emma is only human. She makes mistakes too, and her decision was coming from a good place. She just wanted to protect you, because she loves you. Can't you see this?"

"This is none of your business." Their son said aggressively, and Killian frowned at that.

"Excuse me?" He said calmly, but Emma could hear the anger behind his words.

"You're not my father. Not my real one, anyway. You knew that Mom was lying to me for all this time, and you didn't do anything to stop her or tell me the truth. You're as guilty as she is, _Killian_."

He'd stressed the last word on purpose, and she could read the pain in her husband's features. This was the first time Henry was using his name, ever since he'd started to call him dad. It was as if he weren't seeing him as his father anymore, and Killian looked like he was in physical pain because of it. Henry looked at him, his fists clenched, as if he were about to enter a fight and defend his rage. And tears she couldn't hold back anymore were now rolling down the side of her face, because this was just too much to take at once and she felt like she couldn't do this anymore.

Hearing her son saying those horrible things to Killian was hurting her so much she couldn't even express it. Her husband didn't have anything to do with this, and he didn't deserve that kind of treatment. She was the one who had asked him to keep her secret, and he'd done nothing else than respecting her wishes. He couldn't suffer because of that as well. This wasn't right.

And so she started to talk again, trying to sound assured even if her voice was now completely broken by the pain. "No, Henry. Don't talk to Killian like this, he doesn't deserve this at all and you know it deep down. He _is_ your real dad. Blood doesn't make family, and he's the one who's been taking care of you since the first moment he met us. He kept my secret because I asked him to. It's my fault, not his. Don't be mad at him for something that I did."

"Swan." Killian protested, in a soft voice this time and his own heartbreak obvious in his tone. "I kept your secret because I was supporting you in your choice, and I still do. You never wanted to hurt anyone. You just wanted to protect Henry."

"Then you're as guilty as she is." Their son stated, not looking at them but his tone cold and serious.

"Henry..." Emma tried to object, just wanting to soothe him.

"No! Where is he, now? Where is my _real_ dad?" He cut her off, and it was obvious in his voice that he wouldn't have accepted anything else than the truth as an answer.

Killian lost his gentleness then, obviously so shocked by Henry's words and frowning deeply in concern. "In a cell, in the dungeons. He yelled at Emma, and almost physically hurt her. This is not alright, and he cannot get away with this."

"I want him out of there." Henry ordered immediately.

"Didn't you hear what I just said?" Killian lost his patience, approaching them as if trying to show Henry what was truly going on there. "He hurt your mother! He deserves his place in a cell, so he can't make anyone suffer ever again!"

"Maybe he was just mad, too. You lied to him as well, after all. You never told him that he had a son, and perhaps he would have wanted to know me. So he's angry, and he's right to be."

"He vanished into thin air, Henry!" Emma defended herself, knowing that on this, she was completely innocent. "I never would have been able to find him to tell him about you!"

"I want him out of there." The little boy repeated. "I want to talk to him. Now."

"He broke your mother's heart." Killian said coldly, looking completely confused by their son's behavior. "He isn't a good man. He just hurts everyone around him."

"You too." Henry said, almost meanly. "You hurt me. You hurt people as well. I want to see him. You owe me this."

Emma exchanged a look of pure distress with Killian. She was so hurt, to hear those words coming from her son. She knew how mad he was at her, and she just wanted to go back in time, change her decision and tell him the truth right away. But this was impossible, and she had to face the consequences of her actions. And she was so, so scared. Because Neal definitely wasn't a good guy, and she just didn't want her son to get even more hurt.

But her little boy was stubborn, too. Killian would always teasingly say that he'd got that from her. He wasn't going to change his mind, and given how mad he obviously was at them, he could become even more violent with his words. Killian seemed to see that as well, and he looked down, giving up on the idea of protesting again. They didn't really have a choice anymore

She then turned to her son, and said in a small voice. "Let me talk to him first, then. Let me at least ask him not to hurt you like he's hurt me."

"I don't trust you anymore." Henry shrugged. "I don't know what you can tell him behind my back. I want to be with you when you go see him."

"You really are going to force your mum to go talk to this man that has hurt her so much?" Killian asked, looking truly surprised by this turn of situation. "But… can't you see how much she's suffering?"

"She brought it upon herself. Maybe she deserves it."

A thick silence settled in after Henry's last words, and Emma looked up at the ceiling to try not to start crying once again. Everything was crumbling, and she couldn't do anything to prevent it. She was so lost, and she hated herself. Henry was right. This was all her fault, after all.

* * *

And, just like that, they found themselves forced to free Neal. Their son wouldn't have it any other way and neither of them had the heart to fight against him after everything they'd been through already. And so she went to talk to him, asking a few guards to accompany her in case things would go south during the conversation. Her ex-lover was very mad after all, and she wouldn't risk him hurting her or any member of her family. He'd caused enough damage already.

Henry was now absolutely refusing to talk to her. He was just a kid and she was trying to tell herself that he was coping with everything as well as he could given his young age, but the way he was now looking at her, as if he truly hated her, was breaking her heart every time she would meet his gaze. He was mad at Killian, too, and was obviously determined not to call him dad anymore. She just wanted to cry, and yet she was doing the best she could in order to keep sane. She needed to stay strong. She didn't want to worsen the situation even more.

Her husband had no idea of what to do to make things better, either. She couldn't believe that the situation had escalated so quickly. Everything had been so amazing as Regina had finally decided to leave them alone for a while, and she was now feeling like nothing would ever be the same again. And it was all because of her.

And so she was forced to face this man who had hurt her so much once again, because her son wanted her to and, despite everything, she just wanted him to be happy. Her heart beating painfully in her chest at the thought that she couldn't do anything to protect herself from this, she entered the common room, where her ex-lover was waiting for them. Henry was walking in front of her, not paying any attention to her as if she didn't even exist and she felt like her soul was shattering yet another time. He was her baby boy, and he hated her. She was feeling like such a terrible person she had no idea of what to do with herself anymore.

She still forced herself to stand up straight, refusing to show Neal how much this situation was hurting her. She didn't want to give him any power over this, and she wanted to feel like she could be in control, even just a little bit at least. There was no way she was going to let him close to her heart ever again. And whatever was going to happen now, if he ever hurt Henry, he was going to pay for it. She wouldn't let him break her little boy's heart, even if Henry was hating her right now. She would always keep on protecting him, no matter what.

She then noticed the smile that had suddenly appeared on her son's face, and she blinked in surprise. He'd been so closed up a few seconds earlier, as if nothing at all could reach him, and he was now looking so happy. She couldn't believe that this asshole that Neal was was receiving one of Henry's famous, bright grins while all she got was dry words and scowls. Her son immediately opened his mouth to say something, but she was faster than him. She approached Neal, stood straight before him and said in a voice that she managed to make sound a little bit confident despite the mess she was inside.

"I'm going to leave you two alone, but I need you to promise me something first."

"I'm listening." Neal said coldly, as if she were the bad guy in this situation and she swore that she wanted nothing more than to punch him right in the face on that moment.

He was obviously mad at her for locking him up in a cell, but he'd deserved it after all. He seemed calmed down though, and she knew that he wouldn't try to harm her again. At least Henry wouldn't risk getting physically hurt during this meeting. The guards were watching over him anyway, and she just had to make sure that her son wouldn't know the pain she had been through for so long.

"Don't break his heart."

"You broke his by not telling him the truth about me." Neal said with a small, mean grin that made her shiver uncomfortably.

"This is none of your business." She replied, managing to stay calm because she was well aware that he was trying to anger her again by saying those things, and she was certainly not going to give him what he was looking for. "You vanished. I've raised Henry on my own, then with Killian. You're his birth father, but you are _not_ his dad. You have no right to give your opinion about this."

The adrenaline was running thick through her veins, and the rage was making her stomach tighten almost painfully. She hated this man, so much, and she just didn't want him to hurt Henry. But she couldn't do anything about this, she couldn't stop her little boy from wanting to know this man he'd thought dead for his entire life. He needed to make his own opinion about Neal. And with a bit of luck, her ex-lover had changed and had become a better man with the years that had passed.

Somehow, she truly doubted it, but she needed to at least hold onto this so she wouldn't crumble completely.

She could feel Henry's dark gaze burning in her back, and she knew that this conversation was over, and that she now had to leave him alone with Neal. She then sighed and, aware that she didn't have a choice, she slowly got out of the room. The adrenaline that had kept her up until then left her body at once when she crossed the door, and she suddenly felt like she was going to collapse. She was just so exhausted. She immediately walked into Killian's arms and snuggled against him, seeking the comfort she needed so badly. He felt like the only thing that could make her hope that maybe not everything was lost, after all.

She only noticed her parents' presence by their side a second later, as Killian was holding her close to his heart. They were looking deeply worried about her as well, and her chest tightened a little bit more at this. Henry seemed to be a bit mad at them too for hiding the truth from him, but he was still talking to them at least and she knew that their relationship would hopefully not get too ruined by this. She really just wanted their family to be whole again. She wished she could have gone back in time and relive those moments where she was happy and everything seemed blissfully fine.

"Everything is going to be alright." Snow tried to comfort her. "We just need to give him time to process this. He's mad, because it's still new for him. He'll forgive us eventually."

"He hates me." She whispered, tears appearing in her eyes again and her face buried in the crook of Killian's neck.

"I really doubt he does, sweetheart." David said very gently. "He's angry, but he loves you. You are his mom."

"It's late." Killian said in a deep, soothing voice, feeling that she could barely stand anymore. "Don't you want to eat something, love? It feels like forever since we've had a real meal."

"I'm not hungry." She refused, slowly shaking her head. "I just want to sleep."

He didn't insist, knowing that trying to maker her change her mind was useless, but she could see how worried he was. The baby needed her to eat, she was well aware of that, but she also knew that trying to ingest something was going to make her sick, and she didn't have the energy for this right now. He then nodded, and gently led her to their bed, immediately taking her in his arms and stroking her hair to try and comfort her broken heart.

Without much of a surprise and despite her exhaustion, she didn't manage to fall asleep. Images of Neal and echoes of Henry's mean words were ringing in her head and making her want to sob. They both heard their son coming back into the apartment much later, but he didn't enter their room to talk to them and they didn't move, knowing that he needed time alone. Hearing his door closing and keeping them away from him made her feel like someone was punching her in the stomach and she couldn't breathe anymore.

Killian didn't sleep either that night, and it's only as the sun was starting to rise in the sky that she finally manged to close her eyes. She was wondering if she'd lost her son's trust forever because of this stupid decision that she'd made so long ago. She just didn't want to lose her little boy. She didn't know how to handle this, and she just wanted to lie underneath her blankets and stay there for the rest of eternity.

* * *

_Neal is standing before her, seeming much taller than he actually is. He's staring at her, a mean smirk drawn on his lips. When he starts talking, his voice seems to ring in between the trees of the dark forest they are in. Without much of a surprise, she notices that they're at the exact same place where he's left her so long ago._

" _You ruined everything again."_

" _Again?" She repeats in a shaky voice despite her best tries to sound confident._

" _Of course. Everything is your fault. The only reason why I left you in the first place is because you have no idea of how to love. You are a bad person. You made me unhappy, so I left."_

" _And why didn't you say so right away, instead of running away like a coward?"_

" _I wanted to make you suffer as much as you hurt me. You will never be enough for anyone. Killian will end up seeing that, too. He will leave. I know he will. It's only a matter of time."_

" _He loves me." She protests in a whisper, one tear rolling down her face._

" _For now. But it won't last. You're going to end up all alone. You're not worth it."_

" _You're a bad mom." Another voice continues then, younger, but just as cold as Neal's._

_She turns to look at her son, the tears burning her cheeks as he comes to stand next to his birth father. He smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes and it looks like he's mocking her. He reaches to take Neal's hand and resumes, looking straight into her eyes._

" _You lied to me. You hurt me."_

" _I never meant for this to happen!" She tries to defend herself. "I'm so sorry! I made a mistake by choosing to lie, but I love you. All I want is for you to be happy."_

" _You don't deserve my love. And you will make my sibling suffer, too. I feel sorry for it, to have you as its mother."_

_She places her hand on her bump, terrified at the thought that he can be right. She never wants to make the people she loves suffer, but maybe she's unable to do anything else. Maybe she's just a bad person._

" _Everyone is better off without you." He concludes, still smiling._

_She calls his name, but he doesn't seem to hear her. He grins at Neal, a real smile this time, then he turns away from her. She tries to follow them, to explain herself and say that she's sorry again, but she can't move. Soon, she's alone in this dark forest again. As always, because she isn't worth it._

* * *

"Emma, calm down, my love. You're having a bad dream. You're okay. I'm right here."

A familiar voice was ringing above her, finally allowing her to get out of this horrible nightmare she was having. It'd been repeating every single night since her life had been turned upside down once again by her troubled past, and it was haunting her so badly she was now scared to go to sleep. She opened her eyes, meeting Killian's worried face, and she immediately sat up to snuggle up against him as he was kissing the top of her head. Lately, his embraces were the only things that seemed able to keep her from crumbling completely.

Despite the days that had passed, things with Henry hadn't gotten better at all. The opposite, actually. He would barely talk to either of them, and when he did, it was only to ask if he could go and see Neal, with whom he was starting to build what seemed like a real relationship. All while pulling away from them, and she was terrified. Seeing her son getting closer and closer to this man that had broken her heart was making her sick, and she just didn't know what to do with herself anymore.

She couldn't do anything about this though, and she was forced to let him go with this man that she didn't trust at all. Henry had even insisted to start seeing Neal outside of the castle, without the guards watching them at all time. His birth father had found a place to live in town, to be able to stay close to her son, and she could tell that this wasn't going to end well. She was suspicious about what he could say when they were alone, maybe even telling Henry things about her that were making the situation even worse, but she couldn't even know if it was the truth or of she was just being paranoid. She was just so lost.

Their son would go to eat with her parents every night instead of staying with them in their own apartment now, and she couldn't even express how much this horrible situation was hurting her. She felt like she was going to turn nuts. She was getting sick more and more often, and nothing seemed able to calm her down. She just wanted it to stop.

She barely slept at all anymore, and when she did, she was getting awakened by these awful nightmares. She was finding herself almost unable to ingest anything, as well. She wanted to try, she knew that she needed to for the baby, but her body was just refusing to keep anything down. And despite her bump that was still growing, reassuring her about the little one's health at least, she was getting thinner by the day and she just didn't know what to do about it.

Killian was so damn worried about her and their unborn child, she could tell. He was doing his best to try and find food that wasn't making her sick, but nothing was working and she could see how desperate he was about it. He just wanted her to be okay. Damn, she wanted to be alright, too. But it felt like she wasn't controlling anything anymore, and that was truly horrifying.

The special relationship that had once linked her to her son seemed like nothing more than an old memory, now. And she felt like she was the only one to blame for what was happening. She couldn't help but think that she was a bad mother, because she'd hurt him without meaning to. And all of this was only accentuated by these nightmares, that were taking all her fears and mixing them up to haunt her. She was so scared. Scared to make the people she loved the most suffer, and not be able to protect them like she should have.

Despite all of this, her terror and her pain, she was doing her best not to show it to Killian too much. She knew that she could have easily talked to him about what was going on in her mind, but she just didn't want to worry him more than he already was. He was suffering too, and she didn't want to worsen things. She loved him way too much for that. He deserved better.

And so she was keeping everything bottled up inside, only snuggling up against him for comfort when she needed it, but never saying anything out loud. She was well aware that he knew exactly how she was feeling about all of this, though. He knew her so well, and he was always here for her when she needed it the most. At least, she wasn't feeling completely alone to get through this. She was loved, surrounded. And with a bit of luck, things would get better one day. She just wanted her little boy back, and she just had to keep on hoping that not everything was lost after all.

She was also trying to see the good side of things, to try not to crumble. Regina and Rumpelstiltskin had disappeared for weeks now, and at least they weren't scared to get attacked at all time anymore. It was probably the calm before the storm, she was well aware of that, but she was relieved not to have to fight against all these problems at once. She probably wouldn't have been able to deal with everything, and she was just grateful for this moment of quiet. She would be okay eventually. She just needed time.

"Are you alright?" Killian asked in a whisper, and she nodded slowly in answer. "Did you have a nightmare again? Do you want to talk about it?"

He didn't know what was happening in this dream that she was having every night, and she really didn't want to worry him with this violent scene that was playing over and over again, torturing her. So she said in a broken voice instead, trying not to start crying and forcing herself to erase Neal's image from her mind.

"It's nothing. I don't even remember it."

He knew that she was lying, it was pretty obvious, but he didn't make any comment about it either. He was understanding as well, and he knew that she didn't want to talk about everything that was going on inside of her head. So instead, a simply kissed her temple and, under his touch, she felt herself relaxing a little bit. He was her rock, and she was so grateful for him.

And so she wanted to deepen this embrace that was making her feel so good. In the dark, she searched for his lips, and he gently kissed her back. It wasn't enough for her though, and she cupped his head for it to go faster. She needed to feel him close, to hear him say that he loved her. The only moments during which she could actually forget about what was going on for a bit were when they were making love. And she wanted him so badly she was aching with it.

He answered her wishes at first, until she found herself lying on top of him. Her growing bump was making it tricky to find a comfortable position during those kind of intense moments, but she wasn't going to let anything stop her. She then pulled away for a second in order to move a little bit, leaning again as she was finally feeling alright to reach Killian's lips once more. But instead of answering her again, he stopped. Surprised, she sat back up, and he did the same as she was still straddling him, searching for the reason why he would interrupt their pleasant moment so suddenly.

"Darling… maybe you should get some rest instead, don't you think? You are exhausted, and you need to sleep. The wee one needs you to be alright, aye?"

As far as she could remember, he'd never refused an embrace coming from her. He'd pronounced his last words so gently, and his hand had come to rest over her bump to illustrate his words, but his statement made her heart tighten unpleasantly. She was feeling so self-conscious lately, and this coming on top of the fear of having lost her son because of a stupid lie, she finally broke down.

She was unable to keep everything inside once again, and she was just so tired. So this time, she rolled on her side to turn her back to her husband, not wanting to show him how much his words had hurt her, and already feeling tears streaming down her face. She was well aware that this wasn't just about the changes her body was going through. Everything was just too much, and she couldn't keep on pretending that everything was fine anymore.

A sob shook her shoulders, and she buried her face in her pillow, just trying to calm herself down and fustrated with her own reaction. Killian noticed her tears instantly though, and he came to wrap his arms around her from behind, his hand and hook resting on her bump and his breath caressing her neck. He kissed her once behind the ear, obviously pained by her tears, and he whispered.

"I'm so sorry, my love. I never meant to hurt you. I really just want you to rest, because you're so tired and I'm worried about you."

"You're only making excuses." She sobbed, but buried herself a little bit deeper in his embrace at the same time because feeling him close was the best cure she could ever have hoped for.

"What do you mean?" He asked, obviously surprised.

"You just don't want me anymore. I'm getting huge, and you don't want to approach me. You're just too kind to tell me that I'm disgusting."

She felt him sigh in her neck and, gently, he encouraged her to turn so she could look at him. He reached for her hand to help her sit up, and settled in front of her, his hand cupping her cheek and looking straight into her eyes. He was looking so pained by her words, it made her want to cry even harder, but he didn't seem mad at all. Very softly, he said after a few more seconds of silence.

"Gods, lass, I'm sorry that you've thought that way, even for a second. Please, believe me when I say that the day I won't want you anymore will never, ever come. You're the most beautiful person I've ever laid my eyes on, Emma. I know you're feeling uncomfortable right now, and I wish I could do something to help you feel better. But this." He added, placing his hand on her stomach to stress his statement. "This little bump there, it is so gorgeous to me. It's the sign of our wee one growing inside of you. You're creating a life, love, and this is the most stunning thing I have ever witnessed. You've never been more beautiful. And I love you so bloody much."

His little speech truly touched her soul, and she sighed at that, resting her head against his shoulder to feel him close. He wrapped his arms around her as her tears were calming down, and he murmured how much he loved her over and over again until she felt like she could finally breathe again. And finally, after a while, she managed to murmur, sniffing discreetly.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to break down like this."

"Swan, please don't apologize. But I can tell that this isn't it. There's something else happening here. So, tell me. What's going on in that beautiful mind of yours?"

She sighed again, looking up to be able to see him more clearly. He knew what was happening already, but he wanted her to say it out loud, and he was looking at her with so much love that she didn't have the heart to tell him that everything was alright once again. Because nothing was. She was so exhausted of playing pretend.

"I just can't do this anymore." She finally admitted then. "Henry hates me, and I'm the only one to blame for it. And seeing my son growing close to this man who didn't raise him and hurt me so much feels like a nightmare. I feel like nothing will never be the same again. I feel like I've lost my little boy."

"Oh, Emma." He said, his hand in her hair as one lonely tear was streaming down her face. "I know that this is so hard, believe me. I would love to be able to help with the situation. I would love for Henry to see what's truly happening, and to finally forgive you."

"He's right to be mad." She shrugged.

"But he doesn't have the right to hurt you like this. You've always been there for him, while Baelfire wasn't. I would love for him to finally understand that he can't behave that way, because it's making you suffer."

"He's doing the same thing with you." She noted sadly. "He's pushing us away, and I don't know what to do about it anymore. I feel like our family is broken, Killian. And this is all my fault."

"Please, darling, don't blame yourself. Your choice to lie to him was coming from a good place. You never wanted to hurt him, and you were just a child yourself when you took this decision. You've always been there for him despite everything you've been through, and he has the best mom he could ever have wished for. Soon, he will see the truth. I promise."

Hearing him saying that she was a good mom, even though his opinion was clearly biased, was comforting her more than anything else could ever have. He dropped a little kiss to her forehead, and she laid back down on the bed as he was leaning toward her stomach to talk to their baby. He kissed her skin there, making her shiver pleasantly, and he murmured in a low, soothing voice.

"Hey, little one. You know that you have the best mother in the entire world, right? Can you promise me that you will never forget that?"

"Your dad isn't bad himself." She added, one hand on her bump and the other lost in Killian's dark locks. "You'll see."

Her husband looked up to smile at her, and he kept on talking to their child there, telling it stories of treasures and adventures at sea all while gently caressing her skin. Rocked by the sound of his voice and his soothing touch, she was finally able to fall back asleep. She didn't have anymore nightmare that night.


	40. Chapter 40

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry that it took me so long to update this chapter, but I hope that you'll like it! I still enjoy writing this fiction as much as ever, and I'll never be able to thank you enough for all the support you're giving me. You guys are awesome!

Emma was slowly running her hairbrush through her long blond hair, looking at her reflection in the mirror of the room and letting go of a very small sigh. If Chiara was still her assistant, she was doing almost everything by herself, now that she was used to her new life. She perfectly knew how to take care of herself, and she was thus giving a lot of free time to her friend. In the meantime, the young cook had then decided to go back to the kitchens whenever she could. She was refusing to stay in the castle without doing anything to help and she loved cooking so much, Emma was just glad to see her so happy. Her help was still precious though, and her company even more as she was supporting the family through any difficult situation. And there seemed to be plenty of those lately.

She placed the hairbrush back on the dressing table, turning on her side to examine her figure in the looking glass. She rested both her hands over her bump, surprised once again to notice how much she was showing already. She was almost completely sure that things hadn't been the same at all when she'd been pregnant with Henry, and she was feeling so heavy most of the time. Still, it meant that the baby was fine at least, and she certainly wasn't going to complain about it. She gently stroked her skin from above her tunic, as if communicating with her little one there, and she said in a soft, low voice.

"You like to show yourself baby, don't you?"

It was a new habit she'd taken for a few weeks now, and she would find herself talking to her unborn child several times a day without even thinking about it that much. She'd started doing this even more often ever since Henry had decided that he didn't want to talk to her anymore. It was making her feel like she wasn't such a bad mom after all.

Still, even if she was doing her best for the baby to be alright, it'd been days since she'd been able to ingest a real meal. She couldn't sleep either, and she was simply exhausted. Everything felt like too much and life was so complicated she wanted to scream sometimes, because she didn't know what to do with this weight she was carrying everywhere with her anymore. She just wanted her baby to be healthy, and for it not to suffer too much because of this awful situation, but she felt like she was failing at this too. She loved it so much already, and she didn't want to hurt it like she'd hurt Henry without meaning to.

Because the situation with her son wasn't getting any better and she thought that she could turn insane with the pain that was crushing her heart every second of every day. Henry's rage only seemed to be growing, and he was spending more and more time with Neal. He was pushing her and Killian away, staying with his grandparents when he wasn't outside with his birth father in order to avoid them, and this all thing was hurting her beyond words.

She was still forcing herself to stay strong, though. She was refusing to break down like she already had, and she was doing the best she could in order to never cry in front of her boy, despite how complicated all of this was. Her son needed time and she knew that he was going to forgive her eventually, no matter how long it would take. Meanwhile, she was going to give him the space he wanted, because that was the best thing she could do anyway. All she could really do right now was showing him how sorry she was over and over again and hope that he would actually believe her soon.

"Hey, gorgeous." Killian's voice suddenly said from behind her, drawing her away from her dark thoughts.

She looked away from her own reflection to turn to her husband and smile at him. Her grins were getting rare these days, and he was the only one able to make her feel like maybe she could still be happy someday. He approached her, dropping a sweet kiss to her temple and resting his hand over her bump in this tender gesture that would always make her heart skip a beat. She sighed, and said, getting a little bit closer to him to bury herself in his embrace.

"Gorgeous, huh? I'll probably end up being the size of a continent before the end of this pregnancy, you know."

"No, you won't." Killian chuckled slightly, burying his face in her long blond hair to breathe her in. "And even if such a thing happened, you would still be as beautiful as ever."

"I you say so. This baby likes to be seen though, that's for sure."

"And I can't stay that I dislike it." He answered with a smile. "You're glowing, my love, and knowing that our child is growing fine makes me the happiest man on earth. I love you."

"We love you, too." She said, her grin widening a bit as she would never get sick of hearing him say those amazing words. "So much."

She put herself on her tiptoe to be able to reach his lips, and he answered her by wrapping both his arms around her and deepening their kiss. Her bump was preventing her from getting as close to him as she would have wanted to, but this tender embrace was putting her in a very good mood, and she kept on smiling against him. These kind of carefree moments in between everything that was going wrong in her life seemed like true blessings, and she was enjoying every single second of them.

She was trying her best to see the good side of things, despite her nightmares that were still haunting her and Henry who was avoiding her and breaking her heart every single time. She was trying to enjoy every short moment of happiness she could find, and it was helping her to stay sane. Her baby needed her to be calm, and she certainly wasn't going to risk hurting it in addition to everything that was going on already. She loved it beyond words, and she just wanted it to be okay.

Their embrace was however broken by a noise that made them both startle. Frowning, they immediately pulled away and looked at each other for an instant, trying to understand what the hell had just happened and a bad feeling settling in the pit of their stomachs. The sound had been loud, as if something was exploding. After the first moment of surprise, Emma's first reaction was to run to the living room to make sure that the crash hadn't come from there, and that something bad wasn't happening in their home once again.

Reassured as everything seemed fine in the apartment, she then rushed to her son's room, Killian right behind her. Her protective side was taking over now, and her heart was pounding so hard against her ribs she thought that it could explode. She slammed the door open and asked, her voice shaking a bit. "Henry? Is everything okay?"

But he wasn't there, as always. He'd gone to see Neal without even asking them if he could, because he didn't care about their opinions anymore. She was too worried to get hurt by this observation once again, though. Biting her lower lip in concern, she thought about what to do next for a second and decided that the explosion had probably come from outside. And she was scared. Everything was being turned upside down once again, as if she didn't have enough to deal with already, and she had no idea of how she was supposed to react.

She then went to look out the closest window, just trying to understand what the hell had happened and what she would have to fight against yet another time. A black and thick smoke coming from a place near the palace door was rising to the sky, darkening the day. Something had exploded just outside the castle, as if someone had tried to come in and attack them. And she could tell what had really happened before even having to really think about it.

Regina was back. She was there, and they would have to defeat her, for good this time.

She had expected such a thing to happen, actually, and if she was afraid about what was going to happen now that her enemy was trying to get to them again, she wasn't surprised. The Evil Queen couldn't have stayed hidden for much longer. She'd been gone for weeks, and if she was back in the city, it meant that she had a new solid plan to make them all suffer. Regina was well aware that the castle was still being watched by the guards day and night, and this explosion sounded like a warning, a threat.  _I'm here_ , she was saying.  _You haven't seen the last of me._

The door of their apartment opened wide before they could talk about what they'd discovered, or even think about what to do about it. They both got out of Henry's room to find her father there, panting a bit and looking utterly panicked. His behavior was telling Emma that she'd been right, and that something really bad was obviously going on. She opened her mouth to ask more about this, but he shook his head and said immediately.

"It's Regina. She's in town."

"Damn it. Where is Mom?" Emma asked, suddenly worried about Snow's absence.

Everything came back to her at once then, and her heart skipped a beat at the awful images that were invading her mind. Her mother wasn't inside the castle with them. She'd gone to accompany Henry, to make sure that he wasn't getting into any trouble on his way to go see Neal. They were both out there. They were both in danger, and she had to do something about it.

She let go of a loud curse, rushing through the door and running past her father before he could say anything else. She could easily understand why he seemed so scared, now. Killian called her back, telling her to stop because she was walking straight into a trap, but she barely heard him. She couldn't stay there and do nothing, she had to find her family. Two of the people she loved the most in this world were in danger, and she had to protect them. They weren't calling her the Savior for nothing, after all.

Her husband and father however caught up with her as she was about to get out in the park of the palace and find out what was really happening out there. David walked past her without saying a thing, rushing to the castle entrance in order to go get Snow and make sure that she was safe. She could sense him shaking with fear, and she felt her own heart tightening at that. She didn't want anything to happen to any of them. She couldn't even stand this idea without wanting to be sick with it.

Killian grabbed her arm then, careful not to hurt her but firmly enough to make her stop her furious race. She was panting, but despite her fear, she was feeling almost calm and composed, because she knew what she had to do. The reality of the situation hadn't been able to reach her just yet, and she just wanted to get out there, find her mom and son and put them back to safety. Her husband didn't seem to share her opinion though, she could read it in his eyes as he was saying seriously.

"There is no way you're going to get out there while Regina is attacking, Emma."

"Killian!" She protested immediately, frowning at him. "Our son is in danger, we have to do something!"

"I do, but you don't!" He objected vehemently. "You're with child, and I refuse for you or the little one to risk getting hurt as well!"

"But I can't stay here while something is going on, I can't just do nothing! I have to go help them! I have magic, and I can fight Regina, I know I can!"

"I'll go myself." He decided seriously. "Your father is already there as well, and we're going to find them and make sure that they're safe. I know what I'm doing, Swan. I promise I won't let anything happen to any of them, but you can't just enter the fight while being pregnant, it's too dangerous!"

He was looking so damn worried and, deep down, she knew that he was right. If she hadn't been expecting, she would have gone out there and taught Regina a lesson without thinking twice about it. She just wanted to save those she loved, as always. But she had another life to protect now, she wasn't alone anymore. Her unborn child needed her, and she wasn't going to fail it. She couldn't risk it getting hurt in the process of saving everyone. It was her job to make sure that it stayed safe and sound in there.

She then let go of a little sigh, placed her hand over her bump and simply nodded, because she knew that she didn't really have a choice anyway. Killian seemed so relieved she knew she'd taken the right decision, and he leaned to press a little kiss to her forehead, as if thanking her for not insisting to enter the fight.

"I'm going to make sure that our lad is okay, love. I promise." He whispered to her, and she relaxed a little bit, because she knew that he wasn't going to let anything happen to Henry.

At that exact moment, the gates of the castle opened once again and they parted at once, their hearts pounding as they were praying that this event was bringing good news, and not more bad ones. But soon, Emma recognized the three figures that were now walking toward them, illuminated by the bright sunlight. Both her parents and son were there, safe and sound, and she felt like she could finally breathe again.

Her first impulse was to take her son into her arms, so relieved to know that he was okay, but she held herself back at the last second, well aware that he would probably not accept her embrace. She knew she wouldn't have been able to stand him pushing her away yet another time, and she simply needed to protect herself from it right now. So instead, so happy to know that her family was safe at least, she ran into her mother's arms and held her close to her heart. Her voice a bit broken, she asked as Snow was gently caressing her back in a soothing gesture.

"What the hell happened?"

"Regina." The Queen sighed. "She's back. No one got hurt, thank gods. I think she just wanted to scare us and show that she wasn't done with us, but she ran away and we can't find her. The guards are looking for her everywhere, to make sure that she won't try to hurt anyone else. We were in the middle of the city when things went south. We came home as fast as we could."

"Neal is still in town!" Henry then cried out, forgetting about his anger for a minute as he was obviously so worried about the situation.

Emma frowned, surprised to hear those words, and pulled away from her mother to be able to look at her son. His eyes were widened in fear and he was breathing fast, obviously in a state of pure panic. She guessed that he was probably so scared to risk losing this father he'd just found, and he gestured toward the gates, looking straight into her eyes as if to convince her.

"We have to go back! We have to find him and make sure that he's okay!"

"Henry." Killian tried to object in a gentle voice. "Your grandmother said that Regina wasn't in the city anymore. He's safe, nothing is going to happen to him."

"You don't know that!" Henry shouted, looking absolutely outraged. "He could be in danger, and we have to make sure that he's alright. If you don't want to do it, I swear I'll do it myself!"

"There's no way you're going back out there." Emma said firmly, as the thought of her little boy lost in the middle of the panicked crowd was making her feel almost sick.

He looked back at her, seeming slightly surprised by the tone she'd just used. Ever since he'd discovered her lies, she'd been nothing but sweet to him, as if trying to show him that despite his anger, her love for him would never waver. She wanted to prove how sorry she was, and that she would always be there for him, no matter what. She knew that the way she'd just talked was certainly not going to fix their already broken relationship, but on that moment, she couldn't bring herself to care. She was going to protect him, and it didn't matter if he wanted her to or not. At least this time, she knew that she was doing the right thing, and too bad if he hated her for it.

"It's not because you hate him that you have to let him die!" He spat out meanly, trying to make her change her mind.

"He isn't in any danger." She said dryly, refusing to surrender this time. "The guards are protecting the town and the citizens. Meanwhile and even if you're mad at me, you're my son. I'm the one taking the decision, for your own safety. You're staying right here with us, and you have nothing to say about it."

He seemed surprised about this sudden order he was receiving, so much that he actually didn't find anything to say about it. He just stayed there, crossed his arms and proceeded to show how mad he was at her. She ignored his try to make her feel bad, and just anxiously waited for the guards to come back and tell them about what was happening out there. When they finally arrived much later, they were bringing good news at last. No one was hurt, just scared, and if Regina was still hiding at least they were safe for now. Under Henry's pleading, they then asked them to go find Neal and make sure that he was alright, in order to be able to reassure their son.

They came back soon after, announcing that Neal was perfectly okay and was waiting at the palace gates, asking to see Henry. Emma agreed to let her son go, knowing that he was safe inside the castle anyway and not wanting to worsen the situation between them even more. At least everyone was alright, and that was all that mattered for now. They would deal with the rest later.

The adrenaline that had kept her up until then was slowly leaving her veins, and she was finally realizing what had truly happened, starting to physically shake with it. Regina was back, and her real plan was still unknown. If she'd disappeared for now, Emma could tell that their enemy wasn't done with them and she shivered uncomfortably in fear. She was going to have to face everything at once : Neal, Henry's anger, Regina and her baby to protect. And she had no idea of how she was going to handle this.

Killian wrapped his arm around her shoulders, as if reading her mind. She relaxed immediately and rested her head on his chest to feel him close. She had no clue of how she was going to do this, but she knew one thing. As long as they were together, they were going to be okay. She was sure of it.

* * *

Emma had been right about one thing : Regina was far from being done with them. Her plan was even getting clearer with each passing day, until it became easy to guess what she truly had in mind. She was attacking, all the time, and it was pretty obvious that she was trying to weaken them until they were all too exhausted to fight back. At this point, Emma felt like maybe the Evil Queen wouldn't have to wait for long before getting what she wanted. This was just becoming too much to bear.

She would strike where and when they would least expect it, in the villages around the city. She would burn a few houses and mostly threaten to kill everyone, and would run away before the guards could even arrive at the scene. Their chasing game was back, and she obviously had the advantage. It was terrifying to think that she could kill them all with a flick of her wrist, and that none of them could really do anything about it, because she knew exactly what she was doing, and she was really good at it.

Yet, she was leaving the town itself alone, for now at least. Everything seemed almost peaceful, but Emma still didn't like the fact that Henry wanted to go out in the city every day to go visit his birth father. She was well aware that all of this was a trap, and that Regina was trying to make them feel safe before attacking them for good. Everyone was on edge, and she was so scared that the Evil Queen would find a way to get through the defenses of the castle to come and hurt her family. She just didn't want anyone to suffer even more. She was so tired of this.

This horrible situation was doing nothing to calm her down, even if she was trying her best to be okay for the little one she was carrying. Henry was still not talking to her, but he'd seemed to settle down a little after their last argument. He'd stopped calling her a liar, and would now simply ignore her most of the time. She didn't know what was worse, if she was being honest. She was now feeling like she wasn't even existing for him anymore, and it was horrifying.

Luckily, Killian, her parents and her friends were there to support her through anything. They were always there to hold her up when she thought that she was going to crumble and when everything felt like too much. She could always find in them the support she needed, and she was so thankful for it. With them by her side, she was hardly managing not to collapse under all this stress she had to face. She was just trying to lead a normal life, despite everything. Eating, sleeping, simply living, even if it was getting more and more complicated to keep on pretending that everything was alright when it felt like nothing ever would again.

Despite all her efforts though, she was still unable to keep anything down and she was getting thinner with each passing day. Even the tea that had worked so well for her in the beginning of the pregnancy couldn't help her anymore, and Killian was worried sick about her and their little one. Henry's behavior was concerning him a lot too, she could read it in his eyes. They'd all thought that he would forgive them way sooner, but the situation wasn't getting any better and it felt like their little family would never be the same again.

But life was still going on, and she was refusing to let the fear take over her and start hiding or be afraid at all time. Regina wanted this and she wasn't going to give her this pleasure of seeing them completely terrified. They had a future to build together, and the witch wouldn't take that away from them. She wasn't going to let this woman ruin this little piece of happiness she could still hold onto, to be building her family with the man she loved.

And so that was why, a few days after Regina's return, they decided to believe that their future would be bright no matter what instead of being afraid of what was going to happen. And together, they chose to start building the nursery that was going to welcome their baby when it would decide to come and join them.

Despite the fact she was getting skinnier, her bump was luckily still growing as she was slowly approaching the middle of her pregnancy. Everything was getting so real now, and she just wanted to be happy about this baby that was coming into their lives. Soon, as Killian's books were saying, she would even start to feel her little one move inside of her. And building this room was certainly going to give them the hope of a peaceful and happy future all together as a family. She just wanted to believe that one day, everything would finally be fine for them again.

They then decided to transform their current storeroom into this place that was going to be their little one's. And so one sunny day, as Regina still hadn't attacked, they began to sort out everything they'd piled up in this room through the months. Henry was gone once more, and her parents were there to help them, both looking quite cheerful about this activity they were doing together. She was glad to see that despite everything, they were still managing to find small bickers of joy through the dark times. That was all she needed to stay up.

Killian was refusing for her to carry any of the boxes they were taking out of the room, and if she was playfully rolling her eyes at him, she was actually finding his concern really sweet. He was simply worried that she would exhaust herself, and her bump was starting to get in the way of her doing any big physical work anyway, so she wasn't complaining.

She was then simply kneeling on the floor, sorting out all kind of items that she was finding around her to put them in boxes, helped by her mother. Her dad and Killian were busy taking the cases out of the room, to place them in an empty place further into the hallway. For once, the atmosphere was light and joyful and they were all enjoying this while they could.

Emma couldn't help but smile at all the old things she would find around her, bringing with them memories of almost forgotten times. Henry's old clothes, damaged items that they'd brought from the Jolly Roger and that they weren't using anymore, some books her son was now too old to be interested in. She had even started to fill in a box with things that her baby might like when it would be older, and despite everything that was going on, doing this was a true blessing. They could still find good days, after all. They just had to remember to keep on looking deep enough.

"How is it going?" Killian asked, coming to stand behind her and leaning to drop a sweet kiss to the top of her head.

"Fine." she answered vaguely, looking up at him while holding old wooden cubes that had made Henry's greatest joy when he was a baby. "Look what I just found. Do you think the little one would like it?"

"I'm sure it would love to have something from its big brother." Killian answered, gently playing with one strand of her blond hair.

Snow was smiling as she was listening to them talking, obviously tenderized by their sweet conversation. Emma was about to answer when a strange sensation suddenly arose in her stomach, taking her by surprise. She dropped what she was holding to place both her hands on her bump, letting go of a little gasp, completely taken aback by this event she hadn't expected to face. It hadn't hurt her at all, on the contrary. It had actually felt like small little butterflies, flying there just underneath her belly button.

She needed a few more seconds to understand what had just occurred. It'd been a long time since she'd last felt something of the sort, after all. But the baby had just moved for the first time. And her heart suddenly felt fit to burst with the incredible joy she was experiencing.

"Swan? Emma, love? What's wrong? Is it the baby? Darling, please talk to me." Killian was calling for her, in an almost pleading tone that made her come back to reality all at once.

She realized then that he'd probably been trying to draw her attention for a while already, as she'd been completely lost in her own little world for a few insane instants. She then looked up, the biggest smile on her face as she just couldn't believe that this had truly just happened. Her husband was kneeling in front of her now, his hand cupping her cheek, and Snow was looking at her in worry, frowning deeply as she had no idea of what was going on. She then shook her head to try and reassure them, and said, almost laughing as she just couldn't help but be so happy about these last events.

"Everything is fine, babe, don't worry. I just… I think I just felt the baby move for the first time."

Killian's eyes grew wide at this, and he immediately placed the palm of his hand on her stomach, a smile appearing on his lips as well as he seemed completely amazed by her sudden statement. She chuckled and leaned to press a sweet kiss to the corner of his mouth, finding him so adorable she could have cried. This was making everything feel so real, and it was incredible. They were having a baby, they were building their family and they just couldn't wait to meet this little one that had been born out of their love for each other. And despite everything that was going on in their lives at the moment, she felt so happy she didn't even know what to do with herself anymore.

They all waited for something to happen again in silence, and Killian ended up saying in a gentle voice, trying to encourage their child to manifest itself again. "Hey, little one. Could you move again for me, please?"

As if it were answering its father's request, Emma felt the butterflies taking place in her stomach once more and she giggled at the amazing sensation. She looked up at Killian to see his reaction, but he was still staring at her bump, as if patiently waiting for something that wasn't coming. She then understood with a hint of disappointment that it was still too early for him to really feel their child just yet. She could barely sense it herself after all, but she really would have wanted for him to be able to share this very important moment with her.

"Did you feel it?" She asked anyway, wanting to be sure of her assumptions.

"No." He answered, frowning. "Did the wee one move, love?"

"It did." She said, making a little face at his disappointed expression.

"It's totally normal for Emma to be the only one able to feel the baby move for now." Snow then reassured them with a small smile. "You'll be able to feel it soon too, Killian. You just both need to be a bit patient, but it'll happen in no time, I promise."

Her husband left his hand on her bump, looking down at it as if he were hoping for Snow to be wrong about her last statement. Touched by his reaction, Emma then ran her fingers through his dark locks to comfort him and said tenderly.

"I'm so sorry, sweetie."

"Hey, don't be." He immediately replied, smiling up at her. "I would simply like to be able to feel it too, but I will eventually. I'm just so happy it's doing fine in there. I'm so happy to be building this family with you, my Swan."

She smiled as he was leaning to press his lips against her stomach, telling their child how much he loved it already. He stroked her skin there and whispered against her tunic, so tenderly that she felt like her heart was actually growing in her chest.

"Hey, little love. I'm so happy that you're doing fine in there, even if I would love to be able to feel you, too. I love you so much already. I can't wait to meet you and hold you in my arms."

The baby gave a little kick at that, right where his hand was resting even if he couldn't sense it, and Emma giggled, amazed by the bond they were already sharing even though they still hadn't really met. "It just did it again. It's answering your voice."

Killian's smile seemed to widen even more at that, and she swore that she fell in love with him all over again as she was realizing that he really was the most perfect father to their children yet another time. He straightened to reach for her lips, and he whispered a small  _I love you_  against her mouth, his fingers running through her hair. She kissed him back, all while smiling, and she felt like the entire world was disappearing around them and they were left alone with their amazing, endless happiness.

He almost refused to leave her side after that, as if he wanted to be there in case the baby would move again even though he couldn't feel it. Emma wasn't complaining at all – feeling him close was amazing and she just wished that they could stay that carefree and happy forever. Snow took over to carry the boxes out of the room as her husband was staying with her to sort out the rest of the items, and they sat there on the floor for a long time, simply talking about the new addition to their family and trying to enjoy this blessed moment of joy in the middle of all the chaos that had taken over their lives and seemed to never want to end.

"I cannot wait to know if it's a girl or a boy." Killian said in a soft tone. "Not that it really matters, I'll be the happiest man on earth no matter what. But I really want to know."

"Me too." Emma answered with a smile, her hand coming to rest all naturally over her stomach. "We'll have to be patient, though. We'll know when it will decide to come join us, and I don't want it to be too soon. I want the little one to stay put as long as possible, so it can be healthy."

"I may be able to make this wish come true." Snow then stated all of the sudden, entering the room at this exact moment.

They'd worked well and fast together, and the last boxes were ready to be carried out of the now empty room. It looked so much bigger and brighter now that they'd got rid of the mess that had been going on there, and Emma smiled while looking around her. She could truly see her baby growing there, in this castle, loved and safe and without never knowing hunger or poverty or the fear of not being able to survive.

She then turned to her parents that were now standing there, wanting to understand what she'd wanted to say with her last mysterious sentence. Killian got back up to be able to look at the royal couple more easily, and he reached for her hand to help her do the same. She brushed her tunic a few times to get rid of the dust that was covering it, and asked, intrigued.

"What do you mean?"

Snow and David exchanged amused looks, what made Killian smile even though he still had no idea of what was going on. He wrapped his arm around her waist, placing his hand on the small of her back. She let her head rest on his shoulder, feeling safe and more relaxed than she'd been ever since Neal had come back into their lives. She just wished it could stay that way forever. She was feeling so good for once, and she didn't want to give up on that.

"My mother had a magical necklace." David started to explain with a somehow sad smile, as always when he would talk about Ruth. "If you placed it above the pregnant woman's hand, it could tell you the gender of the baby. She gave it to us right before dying. That's how we knew that you were a girl before you were born, Emma."

Her mouth gaped open in surprise, and she looked at Killian, blinking a few times and wondering if she'd understood correctly. She certainly hadn't expected such a thing to be possible. She'd gotten used to the idea of having to be patient and find out the gender of her baby after the birth, just like she had for Henry. As Killian had said, it didn't really have an importance, as this child was going to be so loved no matter what. But she was still so eager to know, and she felt a knot of excitement appearing beside her heart, immediately followed by this little sensation in her lower stomach, as if the baby was trying to encourage her to take this decision.

Killian looked completely taken aback for a second as well, but his smile widened then and the familiar dimples she loved so much appeared on his cheeks. She could guess how ecstatic he was about this possibility, and he placed his hook on her bump to feel her even closer. He looked so happy she couldn't help but put herself on her tiptoe to reach his face and drop a little kiss to his cheekbone.

"What do you think about it, love?" He asked then, even if she was quite sure that he already knew the answer to his question.

She took a second to think about it, even if she already knew what she truly wanted. She was really curious to know if she was having a boy or a girl, but at the same time, everything was going so bad lately she didn't know if the time was right. Even if she was feeling more than okay that day, she was depressed and afraid most of the time because of everything that was happening in her life. And she wanted to feel alright for this very important moment. She wanted to be able to enjoy it fully.

"I think that this is a wonderful idea." She said, looking up to meet Killian's eyes. "But I do think that we should wait a bit before knowing. I would like for Henry to be with us for it, and I'd like to wait for our family to be whole again, so we can live this moment all together."

Killian smiled gently at her, and leaned to press his forehead against hers for a while. She got lost in the depth of his eyes, his gaze so full of love that her heart missed a beat. He moved to press a quick peck to her lips, and he answered in a whisper, as if he wanted her to be the only one able to hear him.

"I think that this is the best decision we could possibly make, my love."

And he leaned to kiss her a second time, making her smile happily against him once again. On that moment, she was convinced that everything was going to end up being okay. And soon, she would be able to completely live this happiness of becoming a mom again. She was sure of it.

* * *

A few days later, these beautiful moments of happiness seemed like it had happened in another life. The distance Henry was putting between him and his parents was getting more and more hard to bear with each passing day. Emma felt like she wasn't existing for him anymore. She was nothing in his eyes, and she could have disappeared that he wouldn't have seen a difference. It was absolutely awful and she didn't know how to deal with it anymore.

Regina was still attacking the villages around the city, and she felt like she couldn't do anything to protect her own people, because she had to make sure that her baby stayed safe before anything else. She had the horrible feeling that the Dark One was helping the Evil Queen in her plan of destroying everything around her, and she didn't know how she was going to be able to fight against the both of them at the same time, all while being so depressed.

In addition to all of that, Neal was spending all his time in the park of the castle with Henry now, and it was driving her insane. He was scared to see this father he'd tried to escape from for so long, and being out there in town wasn't safe for her son given what was going on. She was doing her best to avoid her ex-lover, but she was forced to see him every single day. And she didn't know for how much longer she could do this.

Truth to be told, the only thing that was keeping her a tiny bit sane was Killian's presence and how adorable he always was with her. The little kicks the baby was still giving were also giving her the hope that not everything was lost, and that she could still be happy after all, some day. Her husband was still unable to feel their child, and she couldn't wait for him to sense their little one for the first time as well. She just needed to be brave and patient. Everything was going to be okay soon, she couldn't lose hope about it, or she was going to crumble and she had to avoid that at all cost.

"Emma, please love, try to at least eat something!" Killian pleaded, looking almost crazy with worry.

She shook her head, pushing her still full plate back and turning away from the food to try and keep her nausea at bay. They were both sitting at the dining table, and he was trying to convince her to ingest something as the sun was setting outside, slowly revealing the stars in the dark sky. She was feeling too nervous to be able to even touch her meal. She was going to be sick, and she couldn't do this anymore. She wasn't feeling strong enough. She just wanted to close her eyes and stay asleep until everything was finally over.

Killian got up from his chair to come kneel in front of her, his hand on her bump and looking at her with shining eyes. He looked completely panicked, and her heart tightened a bit more. She really didn't want to worry him and she wanted to protect their child more than anything. But this was too much for her body and mind, and she just couldn't do this anymore. She wanted to cry.

"Darling, please at least try. I don't want you to get sick. And the wee one needs you to be healthy, aye?"

"I'm gonna get sick if I eat, Killian." She whimpered, tears in her eyes. "I just can't do this anymore."

"Oh, lass." He said, taking her hand to press a little kiss on her knuckles. "I didn't mean to upset you. I just worry about you, I'm sorry."

"I'm the one who's sorry." She said in a broken voice. "I just can't do it. It's too much. I want everything to stop."

"I know." He said in a whisper, getting back up and gesturing for her to come snuggle in his arms. She stood up as well, immediately burying her face in the crook of his neck to feel him close as he was kissing the top of her head. "I'm so sorry you have to go through this. I wish you could spend a peaceful, happy pregnancy, because that's what you deserve. But everything is going to be fine soon, I promise. I love you so much, my Swan."

She sniffed discreetly, nodding and as always somehow comforted by his gentle words. He kept on rocking her against him for a while, just trying to calm her down, and their embrace was interrupted by the door of the apartment that was opening loudly. They pulled away from each other as it was slamming shut, and they looked at their son rushing to his room without even bothering to acknowledge their presence in the apartment. It was as if they were invisible. As if he was feeling nothing but contempt and rage toward them.

Emma couldn't take that anymore, and all of the sudden, all the distress she'd been feeling for days transformed into pure anger. She just couldn't let him do this any longer. He was angry and he had the right to be, but he couldn't make her suffer like this. She had to react, to show him that this was wrong and that there were other ways to deal with the way he was feeling. She was his mom and she'd made a mistake, but she deserved his forgiveness. And she just had to do something to turn the situation around or she was going to turn nuts.

"Henry!" She then cried out, so loudly that both him and Killian startled in surprise. "Look at me!"

Her son turned to her, losing his jaded expression for a second in order to look at her with wide eyes, obviously taken aback by her sudden reaction. She walked to him then, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She couldn't stop screaming, everything she'd been keeping inside for days was coming right back to life and it had to get out, or she was going to explode. She then started again, her voice strangled by her tears and the rage that was devouring her from the inside.

"This can't go on, you have to talk to me! I know that I made a mistake, you made me feel it strong enough, believe me, but I don't deserve to be ignored! You are my son, and you just can't do this. This isn't right."

Killian came to stand beside her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder in order to soothe her. He was agreeing with her and obviously showing his support, but he was also trying to help her settle down, because screaming certainly wasn't the right way to deal with this entire mess. She just hadn't been able to hold herself back anymore, and she closed her eyes for a second in order to take some deep breaths and try to calm down. She needed to have a real conversation with her son. She just needed to fix things between them.

Henry seemed to find her behavior really unfair though and frowned, replying coldly. "You deserve to be treated that way, you lied to me!"

"I made one mistake! One, okay? I've apologized a thousand times, and you know that I never meant to hurt you, never!"

"Well, I don't want to forgive you."

"Why?" She whimpered, hurt by how mean he was with her ever since he'd learned the truth. "I've always tried to be a good mom for you, Henry. I know that lying to you wasn't the right decision to make, but it wasn't coming from a bad place. I was just trying to do my best."

"Well, you failed at being a good mother, then!" He spat out, and she felt his words like a punch in the stomach. "You believe that Neal is such a bad person, but he isn't! He wasn't there, because you lied to him too, and at least he's honest with me!"

She felt like she was going to collapse under the violence of his statement, and the sob that escaped her lips was so violent that it choked her for an awful second. She grabbed the table to try and keep her balance, so hard that her knuckles turned white. Killian briefly wrapped his arm around her to try and keep her up, and she could feel the way he was shivering in concern beside her. Through her tears, she saw Henry turning back to walk away from her, and she thought that she was going to scream.

He hated her. Her own son hated her while loving the man who had hurt her so much he'd almost managed to break her. Her worst nightmares were all becoming true, and she didn't know if she was strong enough to get through this.

"Henry, that's enough!"

Killian's voice made her startle, and their son turned to them again, looking sincerely surprised to get called back after what he'd just said. Her husband had talked in a broken voice, but it had been severe enough for their little boy to actually listen for once. He made sure that she was able to stand on her own two feet before walking to Henry, and he slowly placed hook and hand on his shoulders to look at him in the eyes. After a second of thick silence, he said in a deep voice.

"As I already told you, lad, you have the right to be angry. But your Mum doesn't deserve this, and you know it deep down. You cannot do this anymore. It has gone on for far too long."

"You have nothing to say to me." Henry cried out, pulling away from Killian's grip. "You're not my real father!"

Emma could see how much these words were hurting her husband at the way his jaw clenched in pain, but he did his best to keep his chin up and not show to their son how much this was affecting him. He placed his hand back on Henry's shoulder, shook his head and continued as if nothing had happened.

"No. I won't let you do this anymore. We need to talk about this, instead of letting you ignoring us. Your Mum is facing dozens of issues at the same time right now, and she's with child. She should be able to rest, to feel good, and the situation is making her suffer. This isn't okay."

"She lied to me." Henry repeated, more weakly this time though as he seemed truly impressed by the tone Killian was using to talk to him.

"Yes, she did. And we got that you were mad about it, believe me. But Emma is human, Henry. She makes mistakes, like everyone, and making her pay such a big price for a decision she's made so long ago isn't right. She's always tried to do what was best for you. She raised you on her own, while she was just a child herself. She was barely a few years older than you are now when she was abandoned by the man she loved, thrown in a cell and discovered that she was going to have a baby. What would you have done if it'd been you? Can you picture how scared she must have been for a second?"

Henry was listening intently now, breathing a bit faster than usual as he seemed to realize something crucial at last. He was looking straight into Killian's eyes, and didn't look like he was going to try and protest again any time soon, too overwhelmed by what his father was telling him.

"She was terrified, Henry." Killian continued in a deep voice. "And she lied, because she didn't want to talk about this man who had hurt her so badly. Can you really blame her for that? She's the one who has always been there for you, lad. Who was there to rock you back to sleep, when you'd had a nightmare? Who has worked days and nights, to try to offer you the life you deserve? Who has comforted you, laughed with you, who has been your world for all those years? Emma has always been there, no matter what she was going through. Not Neal. And it's not because she didn't tell him that he had a son. It's because he's left her all alone without saying goodbye."

Tears were still silently rolling down her face, but she was holding her breath while listening to her husband talking. Henry seemed completely speechless now, with no idea of what to answer to these important of revelations. All of the sudden, Emma felt like he was back to being this little boy she would carry in her arms, at how absolutely lost he looked. Killian moved a little bit in order to be able to see her as well, and he resumed seriously.

"Look at her. She's exhausted. She can't sleep or eat anymore. She's pregnant, but she's never been that skinny. Do you find this normal? Don't you worry about her, or your sibling even a tiny bit? Can't you see how much this all thing is hurting her?"

Henry turned to stare at her then, with an expression she just couldn't decipher yet. She forced herself to swallow back the sobs that were still obstructing her throat and she straightened up, so she wouldn't risk collapsing again. She was still holding onto the table as if it'd been a lifesaver. She hadn't expected Killian to intervene like that after getting rejected by their son so many times, and she didn't know what to think about what had just happened. His speech had seemed to reach Henry at last, though. Tears were shining in his eyes now, and the time stopped as he seemed unable to decide on what to do next.

And then, finally, he ended up moving after staying motionless and silent for what seemed like an eternity. He pulled away from Killian, much more gently than he'd done the first time, and he ran to her before she could grasp what was actually happening. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly, and she was so taken aback by this that she needed a few seconds to hug him back.

"I'm sorry, Mom, I'm so sorry." He said in a broken voice, his face buried in her tunic. "Gods, I… I wasn't thinking. I never wanted to hurt you."

"I'm the one who is sorry, kiddo." She answered after a second of stunned silent, crying again as she just couldn't believe that this was really happening, and that she was holding him close again, finally. "I should never have lied to you."

"I forgive you." he replied, and she felt like she could breathe again at last. "I love you, Mom. I should never have done all those things. I'm so, so sorry."

She couldn't help but let a little sob shaking her shoulders, holding him just a little bit tighter to her heart and resting her chin on the top of his head to feel him even closer. She couldn't quite realize what was happening just yet, but on the moment, she didn't really care. All that truly mattered was that she had her little boy back. Everything seemed okay at last, and it had happened so fast that it was making her dizzy. She would have pinched herself to make sure that she wasn't dreaming, but her son's embrace felt too real for that, and she was so relieved that she couldn't really express it.

He pulled away from her after a long time, sniffing and trying to wipe off the tears that were still rolling down his face. He gestured for Killian to come join them, and her husband wrapped his arms around the both of them, his touch so comforting and strong that she let go of a little sigh of happiness. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and, finally, a little smile appeared on her lips after days spent in this gray fog that had almost made her turn insane.

"I'm so sorry, Dad." Henry said, and she felt Killian sighing as he was hearing his son saying this wonderful little word again. "I really am."

"I know, lad." Killian said gently, kissing the top of his head. "It's over, now. We're alright."

Their son pulled a little bit away from the hug after another minute, wiping off the tears from his face and looking up at her with worry. It was as if he were seeing for the first time the bad shape she was actually in, and he seemed so worried at once. She knew that she was looking exhausted and sick, with her pale face and the bags that had appeared under her eyes from all her sleepless nights. He said hastily then, as if trying to make up for lost time and make her feel better all over again.

"You need to eat something, right now. You need to get some strength back, okay?"

He took her hand to lead her to the table, and she chuckled a little bit at that as Killian was staring at the both of them with a tenderized smile. Her son pushed a plate full of chicken and potatoes in front of her, this supper that she hadn't been able to ingest before. He stared at her as she was trying to assess if eating would make her sick, and Killian sat down in front of them, doing the same that their boy without really noticing it. Vaguely amused by their behavior, she then asked.

"Are you going to look at me like that until I agree to eat something?"

"You need this, lass." Killian said gently, interlacing his fingers with hers from above the table. "Henry is right. You need to get healthy again."

"I'm so sorry. This is all my fault." Their son then said, chewing on his lower lip as he seemed on the verge of crying again. "I should never have behaved that way. I was only seeing my anger and nothing else and… I'm sorry."

"Hey." Emma said gently, catching his eyes to stress her words. "Stop apologizing, kid. I know that you are sorry, and it's forgotten now. We've all made mistakes, let's just put that behind us, okay?"

"How is the baby doing?" He asked then, obviously mortified that he hadn't thought about his sibling for so long. "Is it doing alright despite everything?"

"It's doing great." She nodded with a little smile. "It even started to move, even if it's too early for you or Killian to really feel it."

"Really?" He said, finally smiling as well and looking at her bump in awe. "That's amazing! I can't wait to be able to feel it too!"

The baby gave a very small kick then, as if answering its brother voice, and it made Emma smile even more, which she hadn't thought possible barely a few minutes earlier. She placed her hand on her stomach, gently caressing her skin as if to communicate with her unborn child there. She chuckled, and said as Killian was still looking at her so lovingly it was making her feel like her heart was going to burst.

"It just did it again. I think it likes you already."

Henry smiled so big at that and, all of the sudden, she felt like everything was right in the world again, finally. It was as if the last few weeks had been nothing but a bad dream, and she felt like a huge weight had suddenly been lifted off her shoulders. She didn't try to protest when Killian insisted for her to at least try to eat something, because she knew that she had to and she felt like maybe she would be able to, at last, now that everything felt right again.

They didn't stop talking as she was dining, just like they would always do before this entire mess. They carefully avoided the subjects that could have brought back bad feelings, and they didn't speak about Neal once. They would need to have a conversation about him sooner than later, they knew it, but for now they just wanted to enjoy the peace they'd finally found back. And it was making her so happy her smile didn't waver for one second.

After weeks of being in knots, her stomach now seemed free and she was actually starving. Killian looked at her devouring her meal with a happy little smirk, as he seemed so relieve to finally see her appetite back, because the baby definitely needed some strength back. It's only much later that she leaned back against the back of her chair, one hand on her bump and stating with a content grin.

"Gods, that feels so good to be able to eat again."

"I bet it does, love." Killian said, taking her hand again and gently stroking her skin with his thumb. "You and the wee one needed this."

Her smile widened once more, and they kept on talking and sharing amazing laughter until Henry started to yawn, exhausted by all these emotions. It was late now, and he was very obviously ready to go to bed, but none of them wanted to put an end to these incredible moments they were sharing after all this time spent apart. And so they all walked to Henry's room, and they sat on the bed as Killian was beginning one of his famous tales to help their son find sleep. They all were well aware that Henry was becoming a bit too old for that, but that night, they all needed this more than anything.

They stayed in the room for a very long time after Henry had fallen asleep, just watching their son as they were feeling like their family was finally whole again. She was sitting on Killian's lap, her head resting on his shoulder as his hand was resting protectively over her bump. She was still smiling, unable to stop. Everything was okay, now. And she couldn't have been happier about it.

She ended up falling asleep as well, rocked by this peacefulness that she was finally feeling after the hell she'd had to walk through. She was only half awakened from her happy dreams when Killian placed one of his arms under her legs and the other in her back to be able to lift her up. She was only half-conscious, and she let go of a little moan as her face was buried in the crook of his neck, what made him laugh slightly. She wrapped her arm around his shoulders to help him in his task, the other one still resting over her stomach, and she asked without opening her eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm taking you to bed, darling. You need to rest." He said, gently kissing her temple and she felt like she was melting.

"I can walk." She whispered. "I'm too heavy for you."

"I've carried rum barrels heavier than you, love." He replied, chuckling slightly.

"Will you stay with me?" She then asked, a little smile still drawn on her lips.

"Always, lass." He promised. "I'm not going anywhere."

She dreamed of happy family moments that night. Killian, Henry, her and her parents were sitting around a huge table in the gardens of the castle, sharing cheerful conversation. On her lap, a little baby was babbling, making everyone giggle at how adorable it was. She dropped a little kiss to the top of its head, and she started to hope that this was a vision of their future.

* * *

She got awakened in the middle of the night when Killian let go of a little gasp of surprise beside her. She'd felt the baby kick, but was now too used to this amazing sensation for it to really wake her up, and she opened her eyes, looking at her husband in the darkness and wondering what had happened for him to react that way. He'd fallen asleep, his head on her shoulder and his hand on her bump. He'd moved though, and he was now leaning over her, staring at her stomach in disbelief. In the silence of the night, she asked, intrigued.

"You okay?"

"Did you feel that?" he asked, looking absolutely ecstatic all of the sudden.

She wondered for a second what the hell he was talking about, but their unborn child moved once again and he let go of another gasp that made her understand everything at once. She smiled as well then, and marveled at his own bright grin as he was chuckling, gently caressing her stomach with his thumb.

"Can you feel it, too?" She asked to be sure of her assumptions.

"Bloody hell, I can." He nodded, looking like he just couldn't believe in what was happening. "It's… incredible, darling."

"Isn't it?" She said with a smile, so tenderized by his reaction.

"We're going to have a baby." He then stated, as if it were the first time he was learning the news.

She could understand his reaction easily, though. Being able to finally feel their little one move in there was making everything so real for him, and he looked like he would never stop smiling again. He moved, leaning to have his face just above her bump. He dropped a little kiss there, making her shiver pleasantly, and he whispered to the baby.

"Hey, little one. I can finally feel you, too. And I love you so much already, little love."

The baby answered with another little kick, what made Killian smile even more. She'd noticed that it always seemed to react to its dad's voice, as if it wanted to communicate with him as well. She couldn't believe the bond that was already there between these two, and she found it so amazing she thought her heart was going to burst. Killian was still looking at her stomach in awe, and she ran her fingers through his dark locks, stating.

"It says that it loves you, too."

His eyes filled in with tears of happiness, and she felt like she was falling in love with him all over again yet another time. He came back to her face, and pressed a tender but passionate kiss on her lips, his fingers in her hair and whispering against her mouth.

"I love you, Emma. Gods, I love you so much it doesn't even feel real, sometimes. We're going to be happy, I know we are."

"I don't doubt it for one second." She murmured back. "And I love you too. Beyond everything."

They made love gently that night. Slowly, and he looked at her with so much love in his eyes that she thought her heart was going to burst. He led her to her orgasm, murmuring again and again how much he loved her until her nails dug in the skin of his back as she was falling in the depth of her pleasure.

He was right. They were going to be happy, and nothing was going to take that away from them. Together, they could overcome every storm, and she just couldn't wait to spend the rest of her life with these amazing people by her side.


	41. Chapter 41

"Hey, kid, we actually wanted to talk to you about something." Emma began, placing a gentle hand on her son's shoulder and a small smile drawn on her face.

"Yeah?" He answered with a curious grin of his own, turning to be able to look at her.

Her smile widened a bit more and she exchanged looks with Killian, as her husband was tenderly stroking the skin of her other hand. On that moment, she was so happy it was feeling almost surreal given everything they'd been through lately, and she thought that her heart could burst at how relieved she was that everything seemed fine again in her family, finally.

Three days had passed since Henry had started to talk to them again, three days since Killian could feel the baby move as well, and these few days had been absolutely perfect. Emma was feeling like she finally had her little boy back, and she couldn't have been happier about it, because she'd missed him so damn much. Her family was whole again, and she couldn't even express how relieved she was that she hadn't lost him because of a decision she'd made so long ago.

They'd spent most of their moments together ever since, as if trying to make up for lost time. The day before, Henry had even decided not to go see Neal for the first time since he'd first met him, to be able to spend the afternoon with his parents in the palace, just like they would always do before this entire mess started. They'd taken a stroll in the gardens and had gone to the stables to take care of their horses, and the day had been so good it had almost felt like a dream.

They were now walking in the streets of the city together, accompanying Henry as he was going to see his birth father. It was the very first time they were coming with him as he was going to meet with Neal, and if Emma wasn't that ecstatic to see her ex-lover again, her son had insisted for them to come with him so much that she hadn't had the heart to say no. She knew that he just wanted to spend time with his parents after what had happened between them, and she certainly wasn't going to complain about it. Seeing Neal wasn't such a big price to pay if it meant that she could be with her little boy just for a tiny bit longer.

She was even feeling sort of peaceful about the idea of seeing this man that had hurt her so much, now. She knew that he couldn't harm her anymore, because she wouldn't let him close enough to do such a thing ever again. What had happened between them was lost in the fog of her troubled past, and she really wanted to move on from it to be able to enjoy her future fully. Her ex-lover seemed to genuinely like spending time with Henry as well, and her son looked happy. So she was okay with seeing this man that had broken her heart in a million little pieces, if it meant that she could see her son smiling that big forever.

It was also one of the first times they were venturing into the city ever since Regina had started her attacks again. Killian had been too worried for them to leave the castle before that, but if she was being honest, she couldn't have stayed stuck inside the fences of the palace for much longer without turning completely insane. She couldn't stand being locked up like that and she wasn't feeling in any real danger anyway. She thought that she was safe, and she just had to keep on living because this situation was driving her nuts.

Regina hadn't come into the city for weeks after all, and this was just a short trip. They weren't planning on being gone for too long, but she wished nothing more than to be out there again, as she just wanted to feel like life was going on and they would be able to be happy again someday, despite everything that was happening around them. Killian was still holding onto her hand pretty tightly though, as if he wanted to protect her from an invisible threat. She smiled at him again, trying to reassure him and it seemed to relax him a bit. He just wanted to see her happy, and she knew that he would have done anything for her to keep on smiling like that for the rest of her life.

They'd shared a conversation the night before, both lying down on their bed as he'd placed his hand on her bump to feel the baby move, as always. And together, they'd decided to finally use this necklace her parents had told them about, to be able to know the gender of their unborn child. Now that their relationship with Henry had been fixed at last, they couldn't wait to live this moment as a family.

Despite Regina's threat, life was going on around them and they were trying to find light in the darkest of time, to be able to move forward without being too scared about the future. Emma wanted to believe that they would be able to defeat the witch soon. She didn't want to let fear take over her joy to be a mom again. She just wanted to enjoy her pregnancy, and she was doing her best to keep on hoping that everything would be okay again soon enough.

"Well." She then said enthusiastically. "Let's say that your grandparents have a tool that could tell us if the baby is a boy or a girl, before it's even born. We were thinking about using it, and we wanted to know if you would be up for it?"

Henry's eyes grew wide, and he took a second to answer, as if he couldn't believe that he'd heard her correctly. "Are you kidding me? Can we really know? That's awesome! I'd love to be there when you'll learn about it, I can't wait to know if I'm having a little brother or a little sister!"

Emma's smile became so big that her cheeks hurt a bit, but she just couldn't bring herself to care. She placed one hand on her bump, as Killian was leaning to press a little kiss to her temple, making her sigh in happiness. She knew how happy and relieved he was that she seemed like herself again after all this time spent in an awful gray fog, and she melted into his embrace, feeling so grateful once again that she was able to share these wonderful moments with these amazing people.

They kept on walking in the streets of the city, talking and laughing together, and waving at the citizens that were greeting them with cheerful smiles. They were supposed to meet Neal at the square, and she was happy to notice that they were slowly finding a balance between the hours Henry was spending with him, and the time he stayed at the castle with them. If she had to put her rage aside for her son's happiness, she was going to do it gladly, and she was just so relieved to know that she hadn't ruined everything because of a stupid lie.

But all of the sudden, the atmosphere around them shifted as they were arriving at the meeting place side by side. Neal was standing there, and Emma was kissing Henry's head as a goodbye when everything darkened around them. The cheerful conversations the people in the street were sharing got quiet at once, leaving the place to an awful silence that made her shiver uncomfortably. A danger was approaching and her entire body stiffened, ready for a fight. She understood what was happening before even seeing Regina, because she could tell that her enemy was around. She was the only one able to make this kind of thing happen. Her heart started to pound faster in her chest, and she gave herself two seconds to panic. She had a son, a husband and a baby to protect. She needed to stay calm above everything else.

She took a deep breath to try and keep her terror at bay, just forcing herself to be ready for the fight that was very obviously coming. The guards would probably hear that something was happening in town and they wouldn't be long to arrive. She wasn't alone to face this mess, she had to remember that. Maybe this was finally going to be the moment everything would end. Maybe they would catch Regina at last, and she would find this happiness she'd been chasing for so long.

The witch appeared in front of her as she'd finally managed to calm her heartbeats down, and was ready for anything that was going to be thrown her way. The Evil Queen was standing in front of Neal now, facing her, and Emma felt Killian moving in her back and placing himself in front of Henry so their enemy wouldn't be able to reach their little boy. She was well aware of how dangerous the situation was, but she straightened up and looked at her enemy in the eyes, because Regina had no idea of what she was capable of. She wasn't scared anymore.

The Evil Queen was smiling though, what made her shiver once again because she knew that this was announcing something bad. She was motionless too, as if waiting for Emma to attack first so she could block her spells and show that she was the strongest of the two. She was underestimating her, and she had to take advantage of that. She certainly wasn't going to give her what she wanted either, and she was determined to show that she was wrong, and that she should have been afraid to fight against the Savior. The witch had no idea of what she was able to do to protect those she loved.

She then stayed still as well, staring at the Evil Queen with a little smile on her own face. She vaguely heard Killian asking her to turn back and get away from there, but she purposely chose to ignore him. She was the only one able to defeat the Evil Queen, she was the Savior and she wasn't going to let the witch hurt anyone else. She had magic and she knew how to use it. She was strong. She could do this. She'd been training for this, and she was more than ready.

She then started to talk after a long moment of silence. The world had seemed to stop around them and the tension was so high in the air it was getting hard to breathe. She kept on looking at Regina, knowing that she could attack at any moment, and she said firmly.

"Killian, take Henry back to the castle and get the guards to come here."

"There's no way I'm going to leave you alone." Her husband mumbled, sounding so angry that she didn't want to get herself to safety. "You're the one who needs to get back inside."

"I know what I'm doing. Protect our son, it's the most important thing to do right now. I've got this."

"You're bloody pregnant, Emma!"

She let go of a little sigh, still not looking away from Regina as her enemy seemed to find this entire situation extremely amusing. Killian wasn't going to listen to her, she knew it already. He didn't want to leave her to face this, and trying to convince him to do so was only going to waste some precious minutes during which she could have defeated her enemy. She then noticed Neal, who was still standing there, looking completely lost about what was happening. She didn't want to ask for his help, but he was her last hope and she didn't really have a choice anyway. She would have done absolutely anything to protect her family.

"Neal, go get the guards. Now. They shouldn't be far."

She didn't wait for his answer, knowing that it was important for her to try and act as fast as she possibly could, so the witch wouldn't take the advantage in this insane situation. She then waited for the familiar little sun to grow inside of her, waiting for her magic to do the rest, but she got surprised when she realized that it was actually getting bigger way too fast. She was losing control, and she couldn't do anything about it for a reason she couldn't understand. When it exploded without her managing to hold it back, the only things that came out of her hands were small little sparks that only made Regina laugh loudly

"It looks like you're having issues with your magic,  _Savior_."

Emma was too confused to answer for the first few seconds, but she soon understood what had happened and she almost cursed out loud in frustration. She hadn't tried to use her magic for a while, and she was now well into the pregnancy. Her powers were probably disturbed by all the changes her body was going through. It was unpredictable, and she knew that she couldn't trust them anymore. So what was she supposed to do, now that she was deprived of her best weapon?

Regina was about to attack, she could read it in her dark, cruel eyes. She needed a way to defend herself, no matter which one it was, to be able to fight back because she certainly wasn't going to let the Evil Queen win this and get what she wanted. Her enemy was going to try and hurt her now that she knew she couldn't use her magic, and she had to be ready for that.

"Believe it or not, I'm a woman of honor." Regina then said, what made Emma roll her eyes because that was probably the most ridiculous lie she'd ever heard. "I won't try to use my powers against you while you can't even reach yours. I have so many other ways to hurt you, some that could provide the very slow, painful death I want for you, and this is going to be fun in any case."

"Killian." Emma repeated then, turning on her side to be able to see Regina and her husband at the same time. "Give me your sword."

He seemed completely outraged by her sudden request, so much that he was left speechless for a second. He was standing still in font of Henry, using his body as a shield as their son was panting, looking completely terrified. Neal had disappeared, she noticed, gone to get backups. Killian stared at her, slowly shaking his head, and she could tell that he was being torn between two solutions. He wanted to take her place and come help her, but at the same time he couldn't leave their little boy without protection. Sending their son back to the castle by himself was way too dangerous right now, and keeping him safe was the most important thing they had to do. Deep down, she knew that he was aware of it too.

"Are you joking?" He then cried out, looking worried out of his mind. "I'll take your place. Get Henry back inside the castle. I'm the one who is going to fight."

"Oh, no you're not,  _lover boy_." Regina sneered. "I don't care about you. I don't want to fight you, I could kill you with my magic in less than a second. Where is the fun in that? I want the Savior to be my opponent."

"Do you hear her?" Emma then said, trying to make him decide faster, because Regina wasn't going to wait for her to be ready for much longer. "Give me your sword, I need it!"

"You can't fight, you're with child!" He answered in an almost pleading voice, as if trying to make her change her mind.

Regina seemed to finally have had enough of this. She sighed loudly, made a sword appear in her own hands and showed with this simple gesture that she wasn't going to wait any longer before attacking, whether Emma was ready or not. She then completely turned toward her husband, hoping to make him see that she needed his help as quick as possible, and she almost screamed as she was insisting, because she knew the danger she was in if she had nothing to defend herself.

"Killian, now!"

He didn't really have a choice but to answer her request anymore, and with a little grunt of despair, he got his sword out of the scabbard hanging at his belt and threw it in her direction to be able to keep on protecting Henry. She grabbed the handle and turned back, just in time for her blade to stop Regina's from getting right through her. The sound of the steel clashing was so violent it was deafening. Henry let go of a little cry of terror she barely heard, and she could feel Killian's tension in her own bones, but she had to stay focused. She looked straight into Regina's eyes, ready to get this over with. She still wasn't scared at all.

And yet, she knew that she had a big disadvantage in this fight. Her bump was stopping her from moving as easily as she would have wanted to, and she could feel that she was way heavier and slower than usual. Mostly, she had to make sure that she was protecting her stomach above anything else. She had to take care of the baby and keep it safe during this insane time. It gave a little kick, as if to encourage her, and it gave her the strength she needed to act. She could do this, for the people she loved and for the happiness they deserved after everything they'd been through.

The Evil Queen very obviously knew how to work with a weapon, and if she'd gotten good at sword fighting thanks to her lessons, she knew that she probably wasn't as good as her enemy was. Regina stopped her next attack, tried to get through her defenses, but Emma stayed strong and didn't let her do so, because she didn't have a choice anyway. She certainly wasn't going to let her hurt her and win. She could see that the witch was aiming for her bump, and she wasn't going to let her succeed, because her family was the most important thing in the world and no one was going to get hurt in this, she was going to make sure of it.

The blades clashed over and over again, as the fight never seemed to want to end. Emma wasn't managing to really attack her opponent, and Regina was very obviously trying to slowly exhaust her, until she was too tired to fight back. And if this was going on, she would probably manage to do so. The baby was heavy, and her stamina wasn't as good as usual. She was already panting, her head was spinning and she didn't know what to do to stop this and turn the situation around. Killian was nervously moving in her back, as if searching for a way to help her, all while still protecting their son, and the witch seemed to find all of this absolutely hilarious, which was angering Emma beyond words.

She had no idea for how long she would be able to handle this anymore. Regina's attacks were getting more and more violent, and she was beginning to find it hard to stop them and stay on her own two feet. The square was empty now, luckily, as the citizens had run away to find shelter in a safer place. At least the Evil Queen wouldn't manage to hurt anyone else that day. The people all knew that the witch wanted her, and that they couldn't do anything to help her. Until the guards finally arrived, she was alone on that one, and she didn't know what to do anymore.

She couldn't tell if the royal army was actually taking very long to arrive, or if the time was simply stretching, because she was so exhausted. The fight had probably only been lasting for a few minutes, but it felt like an entire lifetime for her. And then, finally, as black spots were starting to invade her vision and she began to get scared that she was actually going to faint, she heard the sounds of hoofs hammering the ground somewhere in her back, and she knew that backups were coming at last.

Regina stopped at once, and she stared at the guards behind Emma's shoulder for a second, before coming back to her opponent so she wouldn't give her an opportunity to take her by surprise. She could hear the Evil Queen's thoughts, and she knew that Regina was well aware she could have beaten the guards with her powers in a split second. But this also meant she would have been forced to lose her focus for a moment, and Emma could have dug her blade in between the witch's ribs. She was stuck in this situation, and her arrogant expression had disappeared as it was clear that she couldn't decide on what to do.

She hesitated, and it took her a second too long to make a choice. The guards were already there, rushing to her, ready to tie her up and bring her to the dungeons. She looked at Emma, and she understood that Regina was giving up on trying to hurt her, this time at least. She prayed that the guards would finally manage to get the Evil Queen, and that this all mess would finally be over, but she could tell that it wasn't it, not yet. The witch let go of a grunt of pure frustration at being forced to surrender, and just before the armed men got to her, she whispered to Emma, so threateningly that a shiver ran up her spine.

"I'm not done with you."

And just like that, she was gone again in a swirl of black and thick smoke that choked everyone around her.

Emma stayed still for a second after that, as the guards were letting go of loud curses, knowing that they'd come so close to get her, but that she was gone again, and they'd failed at protecting everyone. She let her sword fall on the ground at her feet, the weapon seeming so heavy all of the sudden. The adrenaline that had run through her veins and had kept her up until then was disappearing, and she was suddenly exhausted. Her eyes were closing on their own, and she just wanted to sleep for days and wake up when all of this would finally be over.

Killian's embrace managed to bring her back to reality a few minutes later. He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her so tightly that she could hear the beating of his heart. His face was buried in her hair to breathe her in, and his shoulders were shaking with the strength of his sobs. She hugged him back and, in a broken voice, he asked.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." She answered in a whisper. "Killian, babe. I'm here, I'm fine." She repeated, rubbing his back as another sob was shaking his entire body.

Henry came to join them, holding her close as well as if terrified to see her disappear. He was so scared he was shaking, and she gently rubbed his back too, simply trying to comfort him. She opened her eyes to see that Neal was back, standing a few steps from them and watching them all hugging. He seemed a bit awkward, as if not feeling at his place there. Despite the fact that she wanted nothing more but to never have to talk to him again, she caught his gaze and mouthed a silent thank you for his precious help. If the guards hadn't come, she had no idea of what would have happened to her.

He nodded back at her, then looked back down at his feet, as if not wanting to interrupt the moment they were sharing. She ran her hand through Killian's hair as his face was still buried in the crook of her neck, as if he couldn't believe that she was really there, safe and sound. She was trying her best to calm him down, but he still seemed as terrified as ever. After a long while, as he finally seemed to start breathing normally again, a guard approached them almost shyly. She dropped a kiss to her husband's neck and she pulled a little bit away from her boys, ready to go home and forget about this mess for a little while at least.

They gave her a horse so she wouldn't have to walk back to the palace, and she was truly grateful for that, because she was so exhausted that even holding herself straight on her saddle seemed almost impossible. Killian was walking beside her, Henry holding onto his hand as he'd given up on seeing Neal that day after everything that had occurred. After a while, her husband ended up getting on the horse behind her, as if he couldn't bear not feeling her close after the last horrible events. He wrapped both his arms around her body, placing hook and hand on her bump to feel the baby move. She could guess at his fast breathing that he was still scared she was going to disappear, and she buried herself a bit deeper into his embrace, wanting to show him that she didn't intend to go anywhere.

She could feel his anger too, in addition to his worry. She could tell that they were going to have a pretty eventful conversation about what had just happened. He was mad that she'd played hero again, and had put herself in danger, but she hadn't had a choice, and she hoped he was going to see that. So she just tried to comfort him with her presence, praying that he would stop worrying so much soon. She was fine, and she would stay that way. Nothing was going to happen to her, and she just wanted to promise him that she would stay by his side for years to come.

* * *

"Killian, I'm fine. I'm not hurt. You can let go, I can walk by myself, I promise."

Her husband only threw her a disapproving look that made her wince slightly, and didn't pay any attention to her last words, leaving both his arms tightly wrapped around her. He was holding her so close he was almost carrying her, and she only let go of a little sigh, knowing that she wouldn't manage to make him change his mind given the situation. And  _she_  was supposed to be the stubborn one.

He hadn't let go of her once ever since she'd got down from the horse that had brought her back to the castle, as if he still wanted to protect her from a danger that didn't exist anymore. She could still feel his anger though, and she knew how mad he was that she'd walked straight into a trap without thinking twice about it. She had put herself in danger, but she hadn't really had a choice, and she wanted him to see that. If she'd been able to avoid it, she would absolutely have. But she just had done what she had to in order to protect those she loved.

She was feeling a bit guilty about worrying her family that much, but she had just acted out of instinct to save all of them. Her parents had been really concerned as well, as they'd obviously heard about what had happened in the city, and they'd both given her an intense and relieved hug when she'd come back home in one piece. She'd refused their offer to call a healer so he could make sure that she was fine, though. She was just tired, but Regina hadn't managed to touch her, and the little kicks the baby was still giving was proving her that everything was fine. She just needed to rest, and she would be as good as new in barely a few hours.

Everything was alright, she was safe, but Killian didn't seem able to see that. He made her sit down on the bed as soon as they arrived in their room, as if he were scared that she was going to collapse. Despite his anger, his gestures were full of tenderness, and she could tell that he didn't know if he wanted to scream his fear or hold her forever to make sure that she was okay and stayed away from all danger. He turned to their son as the little boy had followed them to their chamber, refusing to leave them after what had occurred. Firmly, he said.

"Henry, can you go to your bedroom for a bit? I need to talk to your mother."

Her son winced at the unusual tone his father had used, knowing all too well that Killian was anything but happy and that the discussion they were about to have was going to be a complicated one. He still took the time to approach her and give her a tight hug before getting out of the room, giving them a somewhat worried glance as he was disappearing through the door.

Emma turned back to her husband then, trying to find a comfortable position on the bed by leaning against the headboard and crossing her legs in front of her. Her entire body was aching with exhaustion, and she just wanted to sleep, but she knew that this moment was extremely important as well. Her hand came to rest all naturally over her bump as she was watching her husband pacing in the room, as if he were about to explode at any given moment. She waited for a while, but seeing that he didn't know how to begin, she started in a low voice.

"You're angry."

It was more of an observation than a real question, as it was pretty obvious that he was doing his best to contain his rage. He stopped walking at once and turned to her, a deep frown etched on his gorgeous face. His blue eyes were darkened with fear and anger, and she could feel the storm coming. She knew that he'd had every reason to be afraid, but she just wanted to show him that she was alright, and that he didn't have to worry about her anymore. She knew what she was doing, she could take care of herself and she would never have put her baby in danger if she'd had another choice to protect her people and her family.

"If I'm angry? Emma, I almost lost you and the baby today. Of course, I'm angry about it."

"Don't say that, you know that this isn't what happened." She answered calmly, trying to help him settle down a bit. "You didn't almost lose us. I wasn't in any real danger, I knew exactly what I was doing. Regina didn't even come close to hurting me once."

"But you fought with a sword! She could have used her magic and taken you by surprise, and she could have killed you in the span of a simple second! Can't you see that?"

"I'm aware of this, believe me. But she didn't try to do such a thing." Emma replied, still staying as gentle and comforting as she could be. "I'm fine, the baby is too. Calm down, sweetie. You're not going to lose us, I won't let this happen, I promise."

"But can't you see how scared I was to watch you fighting all by yourself without being able to come and help you?" He cried out, looking up at the ceiling as if praying for every gods he could think of to make her see the truth at last. "Can't you imagine what I felt like, every time your blades clashed, and you came so close to being touched? She's good at sword fighting, she could have killed you and the baby in no time, and I wouldn't have been able to do anything to stop it. I was turning insane. I thought that I was going to lose you, Swan, bloody hell!"

"I know how scared you were and I understand it." She slowly shook her head, trying to soothe him because she really didn't want him to be that scared about her. "But Killian, I didn't have a choice. She didn't give me one. I needed to fight, or she would have hurt one of you, and I couldn't let that happen. It have to protect you all."

"No, you don't! You could have run back to the castle, but of course you decided to play hero instead and fight against an enemy that could have murdered you without the shadow of a regret!"

"I needed to save you, Killian, all of you!" She replied, a bit louder this time as she was starting to lose her patience in front of all his accusations. "Who knows what she could have done to you if I'd left? She could have killed you and Henry, and I would never risk such a thing. I needed to protect you, no matter what."

"I could have taken care of her." He mumbled. "I would have made her unable to hurt anyone else ever again. You shouldn't have entered this fight."

"She would have killed you!" Emma insisted loudly. "She said it herself, she wanted me and no one else. I'm the Savior, Killian. It's my job to protect everyone!"

"No it's not, Swan!" He exclaimed. "Your job right now is to protect the baby and make sure that it doesn't get hurt. You put you and the wee one in danger by acting that way, but you're not alone anymore and you can't act like this! Can't you see that our child could have died today? Can't you understand that I almost lost you both, and that I couldn't stand it if such a thing ever happened?"

Emma didn't answer right away, her lips parted and his words finally making sense in her mind blurred by the exhaustion. She had only seen her side of the story, but she could grasp his now as well, and she thought that he wasn't completely wrong after all. Her decision to fight hadn't come from a bad place, but if she was the Savior, she was also a mother. The most important thing she could do was protecting her children, and her baby could only count on her for that right now. She'd put it in danger, while it wasn't even born yet. Why hadn't she thought about that sooner? What had she done?

Her eyes filled in with tears, and a thick silence settled in the room. Killian wasn't looking at her, seeming to drown in his own anger, and he hadn't noticed that she was about to start sobbing just yet. In a strangled voice, she then finally said, panting a bit as she was trying not to start crying too hard.

"You're right. Oh gods, I'm sorry, you're right. I almost hurt the baby. I didn't mean to, I didn't think about it. What kind of mom am I? I'm..."

He was beside her in less than second, noticing the state she was in at last and looking truly pained because of it. He took her in his arms, and she buried her face in his neck as all his gentleness was back at once and he was now softly caressing her back to try and soothe her. He dropped a kiss to her wet cheek, and said in a low, loving voice.

"I'm so sorry, darling. Please, forgive me. I never meant to hurt you. You're amazing, and I shouldn't have gotten mad at you. I was just so scared, but it isn't an excuse..."

"I hate myself." She sobbed, everything feeling like too much all of the sudden, and he held her a bit closer at that.

"Shh, lass. Please, don't say things like that. You're the best mum I know, and our children are so lucky to have you in their lives. It isn't about that, because you've always been incredible and I love you so much. I just wish you would stop putting yourself in danger like that. I know you didn't see another way to fight against Regina and you had to take a quick decision to protect everyone, but you need to take it easy, aye? You're creating a life, love, and you need to rest. I'm so sorry for getting angry at you. I just never want to feel like I'm losing you again, because I wouldn't be able to stand it."

"I'm the one who's sorry." She repeated, her tears already calming down a bit at his comforting touch and tender words. "I never wanted to scare you."

"It's alright, my Swan. I love you so much, and I just want you to be safe and happy. You're wonderful, and you're the best mother for our children, please never forget that again."

"I love you, too." She sniffed slightly. "Sorry for crying."

"Stop apologizing now, my love." He said, still gently caressing her skin. "It's forgotten, I promise. You, Henry and the little one are the most important things in the entire world for me. I love you all so much, and I would turn crazy if something ever happened to you. I just want to be able to protect you all, and for nothing bad to ever happen to any of you. You're my entire universe, Emma."

Her heart skipped a small beat at his sweet statement, and he moved slowly until she was lying down on the bed beside him. He smiled at her, playing with a strand of her hair to soothe her, and there was no hint of the anger that had inhabited him before in his eyes. He was looking at her so lovingly, as if she were brighter than all the stars in the sky, and it actually made her feel better. Everyone was fine, and that was all that truly mattered. They could take care of the rest later.

He ended up getting his hand out of her hair to wipe off the tears that were still streaming down her face. He then leaned to press a little kiss to her forehead, and he said so softly she felt herself melting against him.

"You should sleep now, love. I'm staying right here, I promise."

She managed to give him a small smile in return, even if she was still feeling a bit guilty about putting her baby in danger without even thinking twice about it. She'd just wanted to protect those she loved, but she had to remember that she couldn't face every danger like she would have done before, because she had another life to protect inside of her now. She placed her hand on her bump, and silently promised her baby that she would do everything for it to stay safe and happy.

She fell asleep in less than a few seconds, exhausted by the fight and all the tears she'd shed, but relieved to know that everyone was safe and sound at least.

* * *

After this episode, they decided that they had to find a way to protect her and the baby and keep them away from danger, because Regina would surely try to attack her again, and they just had to make sure that everyone stayed safe. It was the right thing to do, even if it wasn't making her really happy. Her unborn child was more important than her job as the Savior right now, and the citizens would have to do without her for a while. The guards were enough to keep them safe. For now, she needed to focus on her family and the life she was growing in her.

And so together, they agreed that it was better for her to stay inside the fences of the castle at all time, and to not go out in the city anymore.

Emma knew that this was a perfectly logical solution. The Blue Fairy and her friends had cast protection spells all around the property, to prevent the Evil Queen from coming in. They all knew that Regina would probably have been able to break the shield easily, but dozens of guards were watching the palace at all time, and coming inside the fences would probably have been too dangerous for her, as she could have got caught in the span of a few seconds. She wasn't going to risk that, not right away anyway.

The situation wasn't that bad, either. It wasn't like she was forced to stay hidden in a room for the entire day. She had the whole castle for herself, a big garden and she could go wherever she wanted as long as she stayed in the safety of the palace. She wasn't a prisoner of her own home, she was just doing this to try and keep everyone safe.

And yet, she couldn't help but feel very claustrophobic in there. Staying in the castle like that and knowing that she couldn't get out was driving her slowly crazy. She knew that it was for the baby's sake and she would have done it a thousand times over if it meant that it could be okay at the end of the day, but she had no idea of how she was supposed to spend the second half of her pregnancy in these conditions, given the fact that she wanted nothing more but to go out there and be free again.

Several days had passed since her fight with Regina already, but it had felt like an entire lifetime to her. Killian was so tender with her at all time though, wanting to help her feel better in this new situation, and this was helping her so much. She was still finding it hard to accept this new life she had to embrace for a while. Thinking about it, she growled slightly, her eyes closed and enjoying the warmth of the sun on her skin. At least she didn't have to stay inside while the weather was so nice, and the gardens of the palace were big enough for her not to feel like she was completely stuck in this situation.

"You alright?" Killian asked her gently, reacting to her moan.

"I'm fine. I just wish I didn't have to stay locked up like this." She sighed.

"I know, love." He whispered to her ear, making goosebumps rise on her skin, and a small smile appeared on her lips despite the situation. "But it's for the wee one's sake, aye?"

She nodded, knowing that he was absolutely right. They were both sitting underneath the branches of a tree, leaning against the big trunk. She was settled in between his legs and his arms were wrapped around her, as he'd placed both hook and hand on her bump to be able to feel the baby move. This was happening more and more often lately, as the little one seemed to love dancing on her ribs. She wasn't complaining : at least she knew that it was doing okay in there, and feeling it being so active was making its arrival feel even more real.

To help her feel better about this decision they'd taken together, Killian had prepared a lunch with all her favorite meals that afternoon, that they'd eaten in the park to enjoy the last days of sun of the year. Despite her frustration, her appetite hadn't left her again ever since things with Henry had gotten better, and she was feeling like she was eating for three. It seemed to make Killian very happy, as he knew that their child needed these strengths after everything they'd gone through lately, and she was just glad to see him smiling like that.

She buried her face a bit deeper in the crook of his shoulder, then looked up to meet his gaze and give him a pout that made him chuckle. He gently stroked her bump through her tunic, gesture that had become so familiar since the beginning of the pregnancy, and he kindly kissed her temple, what made her smile as well.

"Don't look like that, lass. Today is a big day, isn't it? Aren't you excited about it?"

Her grin widened a bit more and she answered by dropping a small peck to his cheek. She was truly happy about what was going to happen that day, and if she was moaning about her new situation, she'd waited for this moment for a long time and she couldn't have been more excited that it was finally becoming real.

That day, they'd indeed decided to finally learn about what the baby was going to be, after all those weeks spent at trying to guess what they were having. It didn't really matter if she was expecting a girl or a boy, as long as it was healthy and happy, but she was so impatient to finally know anyway. Her husband's smile was telling her that he was feeling the exact same way, and his happiness was definitely very contagious. She couldn't help but smile herself.

They'd asked the Blue Fairy to come and make sure that the baby was still healthy in there, before learning about the gender thanks to the necklace her parents had received from Ruth. The meeting was planned a bit later in the afternoon, and her entire family was bursting with excitement. Henry was ecstatic about finally learning if he was going to have a little brother or sister and, on that moment, it felt like they were just a happy, normal family enjoying some very important moments together.

"Do you think it's a girl or a boy?" Killian asked all of the sudden, driving her away from her thoughts.

"I don't know." She hummed absently. "What do you think?"

"Well." He chuckled slightly, making her smile widen again. "Don't ask me why, but I do have this feeling that we're expecting a little princess, love."

"Really?" Emma said, amused by his comment. "That's funny, because I happen to think the exact same way."

She wasn't lying to please him, even if his smile was worth everything in the world on that moment. For a reason she just couldn't understand, she was feeling like she was carrying a little girl in there. She could have been wrong, but she'd felt that Henry was a boy when she was pregnant with him, and she liked to think that she possessed a kind of mysterious instinct that was always right.

"Maybe we're both right." He then said, so softly her heart skipped a beat. "I would be as happy if it's a little lad, of course, but I can't help but imagine a small lass with your blond hair and your beautiful eyes running around the castle."

"And probably making mischief with Henry." Emma giggled at that. "It's funny that you say that, though, because I hope she has your eyes. You know I love those big baby blue of yours."

Still smiling, he kissed the top of her head and she realized how good she was suddenly feeling after this small simple conversation. They spent a long time talking there, about their future and their family that was growing, and she was feeling so good to know that things could still feel normal, despite everything they were going through. He ended up moving as it was finally time for them to go learn the truth about their assumptions, and he reached for her hand to help her do the same.

"Whatever we're having, Swan, I'll be the happiest man on earth. Thank you for giving me everything that I could ever have wished for."

"Thank you for being the best husband and father to our children." She answered, sweetly kissing his lips. "I love you."

"I love you, too. So bloody much."

It made her smile so widely her heart seemed to grow in her chest and, hand in hand, they both walked back to the castle with their grins still on their faces, so excited to finally know. They found the Blue Fairy, Henry and her parents awaiting for them in front of their apartment door. They'd invited David and Snow to be there with them for the big reveal, wanting this to be a family moment they could remember forever, and they were all absolutely delighted about it. They couldn't wait to know the gender of their future grandchild, and their smiles seemed brighter than anything.

Blue greeted them warmly and immediately invited her to lay down on the bed so she could begin the now familiar check-up. Her family was surrounding her, Killian sitting beside her and holding her hand, and she was suddenly overwhelmed by how loved she was. She would never be alone again, and she couldn't believe how far she'd come from the little girl who had once thought she would never be enough for anyone. Thinking about this, the fact that she couldn't get out of the castle anymore didn't seem that bad after all. She had a family, a wonderful son, another child created from the amazing relationship she shared with her True Love. And on that moment, she just couldn't have been happier.

"How are you feeling, Emma?" The fairy asked kindly, as Snow was getting the little necklace that would allow them to know the gender of the baby out of the pocket of her dress.

"Much better." She answered cheerfully. "I barely feel sick anymore. The mood swings can get annoying sometimes, but aside from that, I'm feeling great. And the fact that I'm showing so much already only proves that the little on is doing fine, right?"

"Right." Their friend nodded with a smile. "It's growing healthy and strong, and it's definitely great news."

"It's moving a lot, too." Henry cheerfully intervened. "It's crazy the kicks it can give sometimes."

"That's a good sign, too." Blue said happily. "I bet your little one will be the healthiest baby there is. So." She continued with a small smile. "Are you ready for the big reveal?"

"More than ever." Killian answered immediately.

Emma turned to look at him and, seeing the overexcited look on his face, she had to hold herself back from sitting up and kissing him senseless on the spot. She then turned her attention back to her mom, as she was giving the necklace to their friend. She felt the little knot of excitement growing in her chest, and she bit her lip, her heart pounding fast with impatience.

"Here we go, then." Blue said. "If it moves from North to South, it's a boy. If it does from West to East, it's a girl. Shall we?"

Both Killian and Emma nodded at the same time, and she could feel her husband's hand holding hers a little bit tighter. He seemed like the happiest man on earth on that moment, and she swore that she was falling in love with him a little bit more again at how adorable he looked.

Taking a deep breath, she held the palm of her hand out, and her friend gently took it to place the necklace right above it. They waited in an impatient silence for a while, eager to see the jewel finally move to tell them the truth. It only took a couple of seconds, but at their greatest surprise, as they hadn't expected such a thing to happen, it didn't start to gently swing like it should have. Instead, the movements were much more violent, and it suddenly seemed to get out of control.

The entire room was filled in with a confused silence, as everyone was looking at the magical item without understanding what the hell was going on. Emma turned to her mother, worried and fearing that something was very wrong. The concerned gaze she got in return made a knot of anxiety appear just underneath her heart, and she asked in a small voice.

"Whats the matter? Why is it doing this?"

She exchanged worried looks with Killian, feeling all her excitement fading away at once to leave place to pure fear. What if something was wrong with their baby, despite all the signs they were getting that it was alright? It was moving fine and it seemed to be okay, but there had to be a reason why this was happening. What if she hadn't managed to feel that something wasn't right? What if her happiness was about to collapse yet another time?

"That's odd." Blue then said, frowning deeply. "Don't worry, it probably doesn't mean anything." She added, seeing how concerned they all looked. "Do you mind if I listen to the baby's heartbeats, to make sure that everything is alright?"

Emma gave her permission right away, just wanting to hear her little one and be reassured about what was truly going on. Luckily, as soon as the fairy placed her wand above her stomach, the strong and rapid heartbeats of her child started to ring against the walls. Once again, it felt like there were two of them at how powerful it was. Killian was holding her hand so tightly, terrified at the idea that something was wrong, and she asked hastily, her heart seeming about to explode in her chest.

"It means that it's okay, right?"

The Blue Fairy now seemed completely taken aback, as if she just couldn't believe in the reality of something. Emma got scared for a minute, but she then noticed that if her friend seemed surprised, she didn't seem worried at all. Killian still seemed as concerned as ever though, and he insisted, just wanting to know.

"What's going on?"

"Everything is fine." The Fairy then said, seeming to come back to reality at last. "Don't worry. I can even tell you the gender."

Killian and Emma let go of the same sigh of relief, so happy that everything was okay they couldn't truly express it. Henry and her parents seemed to finally be breathing again as well, and they were all so glad that they didn't notice the little smile that had now appeared on Blue's lips. Emma nodded, and her friend looked straight into her eyes, seeming strangely happy, as if she knew something that they didn't just yet.

"You're expecting girls."

A girl. A little girl. They'd been right. They were having a little princess, a little angel who was going to fill the castle with laughter and their hearts with love. She felt like she was melting from happiness, and she exchanged a long, amazed look with Killian. It was loving, sweet, and impatient for their bright future. Because they were going to be the parents of a little girl, they were going to raise her, protect her, love her, and she just couldn't wait to do that with the love of her life.

Too lost in their own little worlds, neither of them noticed the use of the plural right away.

"Honey..." Snow then said, looking like the only one who had noticed that something was happening, and an amazed smile already appearing on her lips.

Emma then frowned, finally realizing what her friends had truly said and her voice ringing on her ears as her brain seemed lost in a fog of happiness.  _You're expecting girls_. Girls? Why had she said it like that? Could it be a mistake?

Her heart was pounding fast in her chest again, now that she was grasping the fact that something else was obviously going on. She turned to Killian, but she could read in his eyes that he had understood something big was happening there too. Looking up at the fairy, he then said in a low voice, as if he couldn't believe in his own question.

"Excuse me?"

"You're having twins."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that some of you had already guessed I was planning on making Emma have twins, and I'm really excited for the following chapters of this story! See you soon!


	42. Chapter 42

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm so happy that you seem to like the fact Emma and Killian are having twins. There is so much more to come in this story, so you'll know the names at the very end, but I'm very excited to share all of this with you. Thanks again for all the support, it means so much to me!

Everything seemed to spin around her for a second that seemed to last for an entire lifetime. She wasn't sure that she had understood correctly. She wasn't sure that this was real, or that she even wanted it to be. Maybe she was just dreaming, or she'd heard something else than what her friend had really said. She couldn't be having twins. They had always talked about only one baby, not two. They would have discovered the truth sooner if it had been the case, right? It wasn't possible. There had to be a mistake somewhere.

Everyone in the room seemed completely speechless, now, which told her that she'd probably heard right after all. Her surroundings were so blurry she could barely see anymore, but she was still able to notice the confused glance her parents were sharing. Henry was completely still, his lips slightly parted, as if he were waiting for someone to tell him that this was all a huge joke. And Killian's eyes were staring at her stomach, obviously trying to decide if this was the truth or not and if he could believe what the fairy had said. Nobody knew how to react or what to do anymore, and the atmosphere was so thick with surprise it was getting hard to breathe.

Emma was the first one to break the silence. She shook her head, deciding that she was wrong and that this was all a big misunderstanding. It was almost funny, now that she knew she hadn't grasped the situation correctly. She smiled, even if she wasn't actually feeling like doing so, and she said calmly, trying to convince herself of her own words.

"You're kidding."

"No, I'm not." Her friend answered gently, looking a bit taken aback by her unexpected reaction. "The necklace can't lie and its behavior is clear. You're expecting twin girls."

"You're making a mistake." She objected again, just refusing to believe in this possibility because this was way too insane. "It's only a necklace, after all. It can be wrong. And I know I'm not having twins."

"I can prove to you that I'm not joking." The Blue Fairy then said softly, seeming to realize that she wanted to keep on denying everything and that she had to help her see the truth. "Just listen carefully, alright?"

Without another word, she placed her wand back above Emma's bump to be able to listen to the baby's heartbeats once again. The regular sound didn't take long to invade the room yet another time, breaking the silence that was still reigning around them, as if the world had stopped turning completely after they'd received the news. It was powerful and fast. So strong that it sounded like there were two of them. But it was impossible. Because there was only one baby in there, right?

"Can you hear that?" Blue started, seeing that no one in the room seemed ready to react just yet. "I should have realized that it was twins before, but their hearts are beating almost at the same time and I didn't think such a thing would be possible. But if you listen closely, you can hear that there are two of them. There are no mistake possible here."

Emma violently bit the inside of her cheek, her eyes widened in complete confusion. She didn't want to believe that this was happening, this was terrifying her beyond anything she could have expressed, but this possibility was explaining so much at the same time. Why she was showing so much already, why she'd been so tired and sick and the beginning of the pregnancy. And mostly, why she'd thought that she could hear two heartbeats as well every time Blue had come to make sure that everything was fine with their child.

"It's so logical." Their friend continued in a low voice. "I can't believe I haven't found it out sooner. That's why the necklace started to swing so violently, because you're expecting two babies. You're having two girls. There's no doubt about it."

"Two little lasses?" Killian then whispered, talking for the very first time since they'd all learned the news.

Emma turned to look into his eyes, so lost and just wanting to know what he was feeling about this insane situation, because she had no idea of how to react to this. She wasn't denying anything anymore, she wouldn't have been able to anyway. This was all real. She was carrying two babies. Two girls. And she had to accept this, because she didn't really have a choice.

Killian's eyes were shining with such a bright light she got blinded by it for a second. He seemed like the happiest man on earth on that moment and was looking at her like she'd just brought him all the stars in the sky. His behavior was comforting her and terrifying her all at the same time, and her heart was pounding so fast she thought that it could explode.

She had no idea of what to do about these information. She was so, so scared and the joy she was still feeling about learning that she was having girls seemed so small compared to all her fears. There were two of them. She would have to raise and take care of two babies, she would have to protect them from this crazy world out there, and she had no idea if she was capable of doing such a thing.

She'd raised Henry on her own for years, she knew how exhausting it was to take care of a baby. It was one of the most amazing things in the world as well, and it brought so much happiness absolutely everything was worth it compared to it, but it meant screams, sleepless nights, exhaustion and the feeling that you just couldn't do it sometimes. Of course, she wasn't alone anymore, and she would never be again. She had a wonderful husband and parents who would have done anything for her. She knew that. But she didn't know if she would be able to be the mother these little girls deserved, because it felt like too much at once.

But if it meant twice as much work, could it also mean twice as much happiness?

She was too terrified on that moment to let these thoughts linger in her mind. She chased them away, not knowing what to do with herself anymore. Killian let go of her hand to place his on her bump, looking absolutely amazed by what they had just learned, as if he couldn't see how hard this all thing could be once that the babies would be there with them. Henry started to talk then, and she realized that he was now smiling as big as his father. Her parents seemed ecstatic as well, and she just couldn't understand their reactions. Was she the only one who was so damn scared bout this?

"I'm going to have two little sisters?" He then asked, looking in absolute awe.

"It looks like we're going to be outnumbered, lad." Killian joked, still grinning from ear to ear and Henry giggled at his statement.

"It isn't that surprising, really." David then said, grinning as well. "I had a twin. It must run into the family."

"Two little princesses!" Snow exclaimed cheerfully. "This is incredible!"

"Is there any danger we need to know about, since there are two of them?" Killian asked, his hand still protectively resting over her bump. "Should we be more careful about something?"

"From experience, it's likely that Emma will give birth a bit sooner than usual. She could also get tired more easily toward the end of the pregnancy. There are two of them in there, after all."

"We're going to do anything for you to be comfortable, alright, love?" Killian said very gently, finally meeting her gaze. "Bloody hell, two little girls. Can you imagine?"

Oh, she could imagine, alright. The room was still spinning so hard around her she was finding it hard to focus on what her family was trying to tell her. Nothing existed anymore but the blue of her husband's eyes and the incredible fear that was crushing her guts. How could they all be so happy? Couldn't they see how big this was? They were going to be exhausted, and she was scared that they just couldn't do this. Maybe they just weren't strong enough to raise two little girls at the same time.

Killian seemed to notice her panic all of the sudden, as he was meeting the spark of pure terror that was shining in her eyes. His smile disappeared and he started frowning, silently interrogating her on what was wrong, and obviously deeply worried about her without really knowing what was going on just yet. She just shook her head at that, with the feeling that she was going to start sobbing if she tried to talk at all. He then looked up, understanding her fears, and he said gently but firmly to leave no place to discussion.

"I'd like to talk with Emma alone for a bit. Do you mind giving us a minute or two by ourselves?"

"Of course not." Snow then said, seeming to notice the state Emma was in as well. "Take your time, this is a lot to learn all at once. Henry, are you coming?"

Her little boy still seemed so amazingly happy he didn't really notice that she was scared out of her mind. It was good thing, she thought, because she didn't want him to be concerned about her either. He didn't seem at all taken aback by the fact that he was having not one, but two little sisters. The opposite, actually, and he looked like the happiest kid right now. It actually made her feel better about the future they were about to face, because it was making her think that maybe they could really do anything after all.

Their family and Blue then left the room without adding any comment on the situation, closing the door behind them and all knowing that they just needed to be alone for a bit, so they could reassure each other on what was next. They both waited in silence for everyone to have left the apartment, as if searching for what they wanted to say, because this entire thing seemed insane and she felt completely and utterly lost about what was happening.

Killian finally looked back at her, his gaze so comforting that it actually managed to make her feel better. He seemed to be understanding everything that was going through her mind without her having to say anything about it. He took her hand to help her sit up on the bed, and gently cupped her cheek to say in a low voice.

"Emma..."

He didn't have the time to finish his sentence, whatever it was that he wanted to say to comfort her. The softness of his voice and the love she was reading in his gaze made her break down at last, and she just couldn't keep on holding her tears back anymore. If she was being honest, she wasn't sure why she was crying, but she just didn't know what else to do. She let a huge sob shake her shoulders, and Killian immediately wrapped his arms around her to hold her close, her face buried in the crook of his neck to breathe him in and try to calm herself down.

"Hey, Swan, it's alright." He whispered to her ear. "Don't cry, love, I'm right here, you're fine. You're not alone in this, alright? I'll always be there by your side, no matter what. And we're going to raise Henry and these two little princesses together, like we've always done. I promise. We are all going to be okay. More than that, actually. We are all going to be happy."

"I'm… Oh god, I'm gonna be huge." She then said into his neck.

She was herself surprised that it was the first thought that crossed her mind after everything they'd just discovered. She was terrified by so many more important things, but she understood that she wasn't ready to talk about her fears and everything that was going on inside of her just yet. It was the least important thing that had then come out, and she felt Killian vaguely smiling against her. He answered, gently and so sweetly she almost stopped crying at once.

"Oh, my beautiful, amazing lass. You don't have to worry about that, aye? You're the most gorgeous woman I have ever laid my eyes on, and the fact that our babies are growing inside of you only makes you glow even more. It will always be you, and only you. I love you so, so much."

"I love you, too." She sniffed discreetly, truly touched by his words and the fact that he always knew what she needed to hear to feel better. "I'm sorry, I don't even know what to say. I just… two babies? How are we going to do this, Killian?"

"We'll figure everything out, darling, I promise. We can do anything together, the past has proven us that many times, hasn't it?" He said, pulling a little bit away from her to be able to look into her eyes. "And of course, it is going to be a lot of work, but it also means that we are going to be so incredibly happy. I don't doubt it for a single second. You don't have to be scared, my Swan. Everything is going to be just fine."

She nodded at that, but she still seemed unable to return his smile. His words meant so much to her though, and she was already feeling so much better, because she knew that he was right. They could do anything together. Now that the shock was slowly fading away, she could almost allow herself to forget about all the hardships they would have to face, and focus on all the happiness they were probably going to experience together. Two little girls, half her and half Killian, born out of the strength of their love and filling the castle with laughter and smiles. They were going to be really happy, she could feel it. She just had to get used to this idea, and she would be okay, as always.

"We're lucky enough to be the parents of three little angels, my love." He continued softly. "The twins are going to look so much like you, and we're going to be so, so happy all together."

"I'm sure they'll have your eyes." She corrected, finally managing to offer him a very small smile, as her tears were very slowly fading away from her eyes.

"And I'm certain they'll have your gorgeous smile."

At these words, her grin widened and it made him chuckle slightly. She didn't know how he did it, because he always managed to make her feel so much better no matter what, but she was so grateful for it. He leaned to press a little kiss to the tip of her nose, making her heart skip a beat, and he said in a low voice.

"Exactly like that one, aye. Are you feeling better?"

"I am." She nodded with a little sigh. "Thank you, Killian. I'm so glad that you're here, always. I love you so much."

"And I love you, too. I'll always be there for you, my Swan, there's no need to thank me. You're my entire world, and all I want is for you to be happy, always."

They kept on talking about their future and what they thought the girls would be like for a long time after that. It was calming her down and Killian seemed to understand it, gently smiling at her like she was the most important person in the entire world. He told her tales of two little princesses, with hair blond like hers and his blue eyes – she had insisted for them to have his. He described the dimples that were appearing on their cheeks when they were smiling, smiles that were as bright as they sun itself.

He told her how much they loved Henry, and how their son taught them how to read, because he absolutely adored them too. He playfully said that they had inherited her stubbornness, what made her laugh out loud. He talked about how much they loved her, and how good of a mom she was. And, finally, she ended up relaxing completely, sure that their future would be amazing and that she didn't need to be scared anymore.

She ended up lying down next to him on the bed again, the exhaustion catching up with her after all the emotions she'd experienced that day. He placed his hand on her stomach to feel the babies move, and he leaned to be able to talk to them, gently rocking her to sleep at the same time.

"You're already so loved, the two of you." He promised them. "You're my little angels, and I would do absolutely everything for you."

He ended up looking up as her eyes were slowly closing on their own. She knew that he was right, now, and that they were going to be okay. He smiled at her, and she said teasingly, wanting to show him that, as always, he'd managed to erase all her fears with some simple words and his incredible, endless love.

"We were able to guess the gender, but not the most important part of the situation after all."

"Aye, we did miss something quite big." He said, laughing slightly. "You should sleep now, love. The three of you need rest. I'm staying right here by your side. Always."

She knew he wasn't only talking about the moment they were sharing now, but about the future they were building together as well. She fell asleep with a small smile still drawn on her lips, her tears seeming like such a distant memory she could barely remember anymore. And it was all thanks to this incredible man she was lucky enough to share her life with.

* * *

_This time, she doesn't seem to be in the forest for a change. She's in the middle of the city. But the town isn't its usual self. The streets are empty and gray, covered in a thick, ominous fog. Everything almost seems painted in black and white. She can tell that something bad is about to happen, she can feel it in her bones. Her stomach is flat again, she's not pregnant anymore. In a way, it makes her say that she's dreaming, but it doesn't make the entire experience any less scary._

_A sound in her back. Steps coming in her direction. Her blood turns cold and she turns at once, ready to fight against whatever is coming her way._

_Regina. A long black dress and dark hair falling around her face. A cruel smile on her lips. Neal is there too, beside the Evil Queen, she can see him. He's standing there like he is the witch's ally, and she just can't understand it. She doesn't have the time to ask herself any more question, though. Everything is too much and too fast, and her heart is beating so quickly she can hear it in her own ears._

_Henry appears out of nowhere and she stops breathing for a second. He's staring right at her but doesn't acknowledge her in any way, as if she isn't really there. He walks toward his birth father and reaches for his hand. She's about to call him back so he finally looks at her, but small steps ring against the sidewalk again. She looks down, knowing that this isn't it and that she's about to get hurt yet another time._

_Two little girls are there now, no older than three or four. They have her blond hair and bright blue eyes, just like Killian's, but their faces are foggy and she can't see their features. Her daughters. The twins._

_They run to Regina without looking at her either, and grab the Evil Queen's legs, giggling up at her. Her enemy looks up at Emma and says with a smile that makes her shiver uncomfortably._

" _I have all your children now."_

_Before she can scream her pain, she's all alone in the streets. They're gone. All of them._

* * *

Emma opened her eyes, startling and feeling like her heart was about to explode at how fast it was beating. She'd been aware that it was a dream this all time, but almost unconsciously, she placed both her hands over her stomach, as if to make sure that the babies were still there, safe and sound. Strong arms immediately wrapped around her and she was against Killian in less than a second, his comforting touch finally allowing her to start breathing again.

"Did you have a nightmare again, love?"

She simply nodded and let go of a little sigh as he was gently stroking her hair to calm her down. She wasn't crying though, she was too used to this kind of situation happening to shed tears anymore. These dreams had been haunting her ever since she'd learned that she was expecting twins, and it felt like they would never leave her alone again.

She wasn't scared to know that she was having two babies anymore, though. She'd just had to get used to this idea, but she was perfectly fine with it, now. She was actually so delighted to know that two little, perfect girls were coming into their lives, and she knew that they would be very happy, building this amazing family together.

They'd told the news to the kingdom right away, and everyone had seemed so genuinely glad for them. Everyone was fine now, but she knew where these nightmares were coming from. She was terrified at the idea that she would be unable to do her job and protect her babies and Henry from the danger her family was still facing. She didn't want the people she loved the most to suffer from this entire mess, but she didn't know what to do to prevent them from getting hurt anymore.

Because Regina was still attacking at all time, not giving them a minute of rest. She even seemed to find all of this really amusing and would appear somewhere where they would least expect it, destroy everything around her and disappear before anyone could do anything to fight against her. They'd of course tried to know where the hell she was hiding when she wasn't making a mess of their world, but she seemed to vanish into thin air every time she was done with destroying everything. The city was nothing compared to what it had once been. The citizens were scared and hiding most of the time, while Emma was still forced to stay inside the fences of the castle, unable to protect her own people.

This all situation with Neal wasn't helping her to stay sane either, the opposite really. She was accepting the fact that he wanted to stay around now, and she agreed with Henry and him building a relationship together, because she really just wanted for her son to be happy. But seeing him every day, even if she was doing her best to avoid having any contact with him, would make her shiver uncomfortably every single time. He would come and join her son in the gardens of the castle so they wouldn't risk going in town with everything that was going on lately, but knowing him in her home was driving her crazy. She just wished she never had to see him again.

And all these fears and feelings she was keeping bottled up inside during the day were coming right back to attack her at night, and she would wake up in a cold sweat, just trying to stay calm and not turn completely insane. She would often have troubles falling back asleep after that, too scared to have one of those horrible dreams again. Killian was worried, but he was so strong in these hard times they were going through, and it was helping her so much. They would be okay eventually, she just had to remember that.

"You alright, love?" He asked, dropping a little kiss to her neck as he knew that his sweet gestures always managed to make her feel a bit better, no matter what.

"Yeah." She simply said, pulling a little bit away from him and trying to give him a small smile. "It was just a bad dream. I'll be fine."

"Go back to sleep." He said very gently. "You need rest. I promise I'm staying right here and you're safe, aye?"

"I'm not sure I'll be able to sleep tonight." She admitted in a low voice, moving to be able to sit up on the bed and stretching a bit. "But don't worry about me, babe. I'm going to go and read in the living room for a bit, it will calm me down. Just sleep, I swear I'll be okay."

"There's no way I'm going to sleep if you can't, Swan."

"Killian..." She tried to protest, because she really didn't want him to exhaust himself simply because these stupid nightmares didn't want to leave her alone.

"I won't change my mind, darling." He objected, sitting down as well. "I don't see why I'll be the one who has the right to sleep, while you're doing all the work by growing our babies. So, can I do anything to make you feel better? Anything that could relax you?"

She playfully rolled her eyes, but didn't manage to hide the smile that had appeared on her lips at how sweet he always was with her. No matter how tired he was himself, she knew that he would absolutely refuse to close his eyes until she was asleep. And if she was a bit concerned about him not getting any rest either, she couldn't help but find him absolutely adorable for his incredible support.

"I don't really know." She then said with a small smile. "I guess time will help, but I'm not sure there's much else we can do."

"Is your back sore? I could perhaps give you a massage." He gently offered. "I know the babies' weight can't be easy to carry around. Do you think it could help?"

"Well." She said immediately, tenderized by his kid proposal. "I'm certainly not going to say no to that."

"In that case, my love, prepare to feel amazingly better." He gently teased her.

"Oh, I don't doubt it for a second."

A smile still on her face, she came to sit in between his legs for him to be able to reach for her back and the knots that had formed there because of all the extra weight she was forced to carry. He pressed a little kiss to her hair before making his fingers play in her neck, and he wrapped the other arm around her to gently hold her at the same time, allowing her to relax completely and let him do all the work.

It certainly wasn't the first time in their relationship that he was giving her one of his amazing massages, and she sighed slightly, knowing that she was going to really enjoy this moment, as always. He was very good with his hand, and she let go of a little moan when he started massaging her shoulder. She tilted her head for him to get better access to a particularly sensitive spot, and she closed her eyes, feeling like she was floating at how good all of this was.

His hand went to the other shoulder, then slowly slid down her back, finding every single tension she could have to ease them and making her sigh in happiness. The small of her back was particularly sore that day, and he spent a long time on it until he felt that she was melting on the spot. He finished by gently kissing her neck, running his fingers through her hair and making pleasant goosebumps cover her entire body at how good she suddenly felt.

She hadn't had enough of him though, and this moment had made her want much more. She didn't want to sleep at all anymore, her entire body attracted to his like a magnet. She then turned back in his arms to be able to face him, and she placed both her hands on his shoulders, looking straight into his eyes and saying in a low voice.

"It's my turn now, captain."

She was on him before he'd had the time to say anything, or ask her if she was feeling good enough for this, as always worried about her well-being. But she was feeling great, and she kissed him senseless, playfully biting his lower lip in the process and making him moan against her. Her kisses slowly got down from his face to his bare chest, her teeth marking the skin on her way down. He lied down on the bed and she tugged on his pants, encouraging him to take them off. The piece of clothing was on the floor in less than a few seconds, as they were both way too eager to wait for a second longer.

Her mouth continued without stopping, reaching the place where he needed her the most. Her strokes made him let go of a husky growl, but she stopped when she felt him about to dive into the depth of his orgasm. She got back up for a second to take off her dress, wanting to be as naked as he was when they would come together.

He brought her back down impatiently and entered her, making her let go of a little gasp. And suddenly they were one, and they weren't long to find the heights of their pleasure at the exact same time, finishing panting and lying side by side, their hands still linked as they just didn't feel like parting from each other. She wished she could freeze this moment and it could last forever. Just them, their skin touching and still finding it hard to breathe after the moment they had shared.

He rested his head against her shoulder, still breathing heavily and a beautiful smile drawn on his lips. His hand came to rest against her naked stomach and her fingers played with a strand of his dark hair. They stayed like that for a while, just listening to their heartbeats slowing down progressively. She could feel his grin against her skin, and he finally said after a while.

"It wasn't what I meant when I said that you should take some rest, love."

It made her chuckle slightly, and her nightmare suddenly seemed like such a far away memory she could barely remember it at all. Turning her head toward the window, she saw that dawn was slowly rising outside, lighting the fall sky with gorgeous pastel colors. Killian leaned to kiss her collarbones, then sat down in the bed, pulling away from her embrace and she growled unhappily as his comforting warmth was leaving her.

"What are you doing?"

"You'll see." He said mysteriously, winking at her and making her laugh once again.

He got out of bed and disappeared from the room before she could ask him anything else. He was back quickly though, carrying a huge bucket of water that he'd warmed up in the fireplace, and she understood what he had in mind. He went into the bathroom for a few seconds, then came back and reached for her hand to help her get back on her feet.

"I thought a bath could help you feel completely better."

"That's a wonderful thought, indeed." She replied playfully. "At one condition, though."

"Anything, darling."

"Come with me?"

"Oh, but I was planning to do just that, lass." He answered as if it'd been completely obvious, and she giggled at his words.

They both entered the bathroom to get into the bathtub, and he leaned against it so she could settle in between his legs. She placed her head on the crook of his shoulder, his hand gently caressing her bump underneath the water. She was feeling swollen and anything but attractive right now, but he seemed to think that she was the most beautiful woman on earth, and he gently whispered to her ear, as if answering her thought.

"You look gorgeous, love."

"Right." She raised her eyebrows, unconvinced by his sweet statement. "I look like a small continent, but sure. Ad stop it, or I'll actually start believing you when you say those things."

"That's the point, Swan." He laughed at that. "You will always be the most beautiful to me."

The sigh she let go of that time was from pure happiness. She turned her head to bury her face in his neck and breathe him in, and they stayed for such a long time in the bath the water ended up freezing cold. They couldn't bring themselves to care. Their arms were enough to keep them warm and happy, for the rest of their lives.

* * *

"Hey, Emma?" Chiara asked, walking into the apartment after knocking on the door and making her turn her head in surprise.

She was snuggled against the pillows of the couch, just in front of the fireplace to enjoy the quietness of the fire burning inside of it. October was well settled now, and the coldness of the air was beginning to get more and more uncomfortable to bear, forcing her to wear big cloaks when she would go out in the gardens so she wouldn't risk freezing out there. She wasn't complaining though, she preferred that than being too warm all the time like she'd been at the start of the pregnancy.

She was reading a book, a blanket placed on her legs and just taking advantage of this peaceful moment. Henry had gone to see Neal in the park and Killian was spending the afternoon in the stables with David to take care of the horses. He'd hesitated a lot before leaving her alone in the apartment, so protective and as always scared that something would happen during his absence, but she'd quickly reassured him. She was going to be fine, and this would give her the opportunity to take the rest she needed so badly.

Chiara seemed a bit worried though, and Emma immediately noticed that she was panting, as if she'd been running for a reason she just couldn't understand yet. She raised her eyebrows, curious to know what was going on for her friend to behave so strangely, and she closed her book to ask.

"What's happening? Is everything okay? You look strange."

"I'm fine." She answered, nodding to reassure her immediately. "Nothing bad is going on. I've just been sent here to tell you something that I believe is quite important. Well..." She hesitated for a second, as if she didn't really know how to begin with, and Emma noticed with surprise that she actually seemed a bit embarrassed by the situation.

"Yes?" She then encouraged her, more and more intrigued.

"It's Neal. He wants to talk to you."

Her heart skipped a beat, this sudden statement actually scaring her because she hadn't expected such a thing to ever happen. She'd done her best to avoid Neal and keep him away from her ever since he'd entered her son's life, and she had no idea of the reason why he wanted to break this silent agreement between them to never actually talk to each other. They both knew that they would be unable to get along, and they didn't want to make Henry suffer. This sudden request was worrying her, and she was a bit angry too, if she was being honest with herself. How dared he asking her for anything, after everything he'd done?

"What does he want?" She then said coldly, already feeling like she had to protect herself from whatever was about to happen.

"I don't know." Chiara shrugged, not seeming to care about her dry tone, because she probably knew how Emma was feeling about all of this." Henry asked me to come get you. He told me that it was really important for you to come. He seemed to take it very seriously."

Emma rolled her eyes, annoyed by this entire situation while she'd been spending such a nice moment all by herself. Her son was well aware that she wouldn't refuse this if it meant so much to him, but she had no desire to share a conversation with her ex-lover, no matter what this was all about. She was probably going to start screaming, especially given the mood swings the pregnancy was creating, and she didn't want that to happen. She was however well aware that Henry would insist until she said yes, and she was also a bit curious to know the reason why Neal wanted to suddenly talk to her. She didn't really have a choice, she knew it and this was driving her crazy.

She then said even more coldly, letting go of a huge sigh of annoyance. "Alright, then. I don't really think I can refuse this, can I?"

She got off the couch, which took a little bit longer than usual given her bump that was really starting to get uncomfortable. She was more waddling than actually walking now, but she knew that it also meant her little girls were doing fine in there, and she didn't want to complain about the changes her body was going through. Too annoyed, she however didn't accept the help Chiara was offering her to get back on her feet, and she followed her friend in the hallway without saying a word, wondering what the hell this was all about once again.

"I'm only the messenger, you know." Her assistant ended up saying teasingly, breaking the silence that had settled around them. "There's no use in being mad at me."

"I know. I'm sorry." Emma immediately answered, only noticing now her behavior toward her friend and feeling a bit embarrassed about it. "You have nothing to do with this, of course I'm not mad at you. I'm just really surprised. Henry didn't tell you anything else about this all thing?"

"He didn't." She shook her head. "He didn't seem worried, though, so I guess it shouldn't be that bad. He even seemed surprisingly happy given the situation."

"He knows that I'm too damn curious to refuse this conversation." She rolled her eyes again, making her friend chuckle. "I swear, this kid is too smart for his own good."

She smiled at that, and Emma made an effort to keep on talking with her friend as they were walking through the park, to show her that she really wasn't mad and was just very intrigued about the situation. She always liked spending time with the young cook anyway, and she listened to her talking about her family and how happy she still was to be working at the castle. She asked about how the babies were doing, and Emma relaxed gradually, even laughing a few times at what Chiara was telling her. She was then in a much better mood when she arrived at the meeting point, and her friend immediately left her to it, offering her a small smile of encouragement as she was well aware that this certainly wasn't going to be an easy moment.

Henry was standing in front of her, a huge grin on his face that told her he definitely had something in mind. Neal was a bit further away, obviously feeling very uncomfortable and looking down at the ground, as if he just didn't dare to meet her gaze. She raised her eyebrows toward her son, asking firmly for him to give her a real answer and not start beating around the bush.

"What's going on?"

"You'll see." He shrugged, this mysterious smile still drawn on his face, and she sighed in annoyance.

"Henry. I'm really not in the mood to play games, and you know that I don't want to be here. It better be important."

"Oh, it is." he answered with confidence. "Come. I promise you won't regret it."

She sighed once again, but followed him nonetheless as he was leading her closer to Neal, giving up on protesting any further. Her ex-lover was still staring at his shoes, what annoyed her deeply, because he was acting like she wasn't there at all and she hoped that he had a good reason for making her come there and talk to him. She placed both her hands on her hips, feeling her patience slowly fading away. One of the babies gave her a little kick in answer.  _I know._  She thought silently.  _You're right, he's really annoying._

"What do you want?" She ended up saying a bit aggressively, because he wasn't doing anything and it was driving her nuts. He finally looked up to give her an almost frightened look, and she rolled her eyes. "Don't look at me like that, I'm not going to attack you or anything. I would just like to know what the hell I'm doing here. I thought we had agreed not to talk to each other, and I have to say I much preferred it when I wasn't seeing you."

"Hum..." He just hesitated at first, what made her want to take his shoulders and shake him violently so he would finally spill what he wanted to say. "Let's say that Henry made me realize something."

"I don't have all night." She tried to make him go faster.

"Well..." He started, before stopping once again.

"Damn it, Neal! You wanted to see me, here I am! Now tell me what the hell is happening, alright?"

Henry was looking at them with wide eyes as she was yelling, but he didn't try to intervene and stop the argument either. He was holding a bit back and was staying completely still, as if he wanted to give them the space they needed for whatever was happening on that moment. Neal blinked in surprise at the tone she'd just used to talk, and he stared at her out of the corner if his eyes for a moment or two before finally deciding to speak again.

"I talked with Henry, and he convinced me to do something important. Something I should have done long ago."

"Which is?" She asked, annoyed by his hesitation and just wishing he would tell her what he had in mind already.

"Apologize to you for everything that's happened." He whispered, as if saying those words out loud was almost unbearable for him.

The surprise that took over her was so strong that, for a second, she didn't know how to react and just looked at her ex-lover with her lips parted, almost expecting him to start laughing and tell her that this was all a joke. Had she heard correctly? Did he really want to apologize, years after what had happened between them and months after reappearing out of nowhere and making a mess out of her life? She could now understand why he'd been hesitating so much, and she could read embarrassment in his gaze as he didn't really seem to know what to do with himself anymore.

"Excuse me?" She asked at last, just wanting to make sure that she'd actually understood his words correctly.

"I wanted to apologize." He then repeated more loudly. "For everything that I've done to you, I mean. For abandoning you all those years ago, for letting you go in jail without trying to do anything to stop it, for vanishing into thin air and leaving you all alone. For making you fall from your horse while you were pregnant, too, and for making Henry's anger against you even worse because you didn't deserve that kind of treatment, after all."

She swallowed hardly, so confused by what was happening that she had no idea of what to answer or how to behave now. Was this man that had hurt her so much actually apologizing to her, after all this time? And all of the sudden, all the anger she'd had toward him disappeared to leave place to pure relief, and she took a deep, peaceful breath.

She was finally feeling like these words were allowing her to move on from this horrible part of her life and focus on her future with her amazing family by her side. If she could let go of all the bad feelings she still had toward Neal, she felt like she could actually live this happiness she would be able to find soon fully. And this was making her feel so good she couldn't quite express it, because she was finally ready to let go of the pain of the past after all these years.

Still surprised by this unexpected turn of event though, she asked. "Why apologize now? You came back months ago. Why not do it then?"

"Because Henry opened my eyes about what I did to you." He admitted in a low voice, looking down at his feet once again. "He's been trying to convince me to finally apologize for weeks now, so we can all move on. And I saw that he was right at last. So… I'm sorry, Emma. Sincerely sorry. I'm sorry for hurting you and I know that we will never become anything more than two people forced to tolerate each other for Henry's sake, but I hope you can forgive me someday anyway. I'm an idiot, and I should never have acted the way I did. You deserved much better."

She slowly shook her head, not knowing what to say back once again. Her surprise was not only coming from his sudden statement, but also from the fact that he actually seemed genuine. She had no idea if she could forgive him after everything he'd done, after hurting her then coming back in her life and turning everything upside down, but she felt a weight she had no idea she was still carrying around vanishing from her shoulders, and somehow it became a bit more easy to breathe.

Refusing to lie though, she answered sincerely after some longs seconds of thick silence. "I don't know if I'll be able to forgive you, Neal. You're right when you say that we will never be friends, because I know that I can't trust you, not after everything you've done. But your apologies mean a lot to me, I think you should know that."

He nodded, showing that he was understanding her opinion, and she turned back to her son as he was still looking at the both of them intently. He was very obviously waiting for her reaction, and she walked to him to wrap her arms around him for a hug. He immediately embraced her back and she said, truly moved by everything that had happened in such little time.

"Thank you, kid. Looks like you're having a good influence on Neal."

"I'm trying." He answered, chuckling slightly.

Things got a bit awkward when she pulled away from her little boy, as she didn't really know what to do now that this crazy thing had happened. Despite his apologies, she didn't want to be near Neal more than she really had to, even if she was now convinced that he would never hurt Henry. Her ex-lover had changed, she had to accept it. He seemed so different from the thief that had made her fall from her mount barely a few weeks earlier, and it was all thanks to her son. Maybe finding out that he was a father had made him grow up at once, but despite all of that, she still wanted to avoid his company as much as she possibly could.

He seemed to understand that, and they both avoided looking at each other as she was kissing the top of Henry's head. In the uncomfortable silence that had settled in, she stated.

"I'm gonna go back to the castle. It's cold outside. Don't stay out too late, alright, kiddo?"

He nodded at that, and she turned her back to Neal to go back to her apartment and think about what had just happened. She was feeling so light all of the sudden, and it was such a strange feeling. She didn't really know what to think about all of this, and she only understood everything when she came back to the comforting warmth of her living room.

She had finally been considered with respect by the man that had made her suffer so much. He hadn't seen her as inferior to him, but as someone that he had hurt. He had actually asked for her forgiveness, and she'd never thought such a thing could happen. And she realized that the anger she'd been keeping against Neal for all those years had finally disappeared to leave the place to a blissful indifference toward him. And damn it felt so good.

She sat down on the couch with a little sigh and smiled. All was good.

* * *

"Neal apologized."

"Excuse me?"

Emma was lying down in her bed, her head resting on Killian's shoulder and their legs interlaced underneath the blankets. She always liked snuggling against him like that at night, especially when it was cold. She was feeling safe and loved and, that day, she just couldn't help but smile.

She looked up at him, having expected this reaction at her words. She still hadn't told him about what had happened with Neal that afternoon, and she knew that Henry hadn't said anything about it either, knowing that she had to do it herself. She'd just wanted to wait for a calm moment, where it was just the two of them, to have this discussion. She knew that this was an important conversation, as he was so mad at Neal as well for having hurt her so much while she was barely just a kid.

He turned a little bit without pulling away, to be able to hear her more easily, and she then repeated. "He apologized today."

"When?" He asked, obviously completely taken aback by her statement.

"This afternoon, in the park, while you were at the stables with David."

"Bloody hell." He whispered in disbelief. "Why didn't you tell me sooner, love?"

"I wanted to wait to be alone with you before saying anything." She simply shrugged, and he nodded at that, showing that he understood and waiting for another second before asking.

"What did he say?"

"That he was sorry about everything he'd done to me, for abandoning me and making me fall from my horse and everything else he did. He seemed genuine."

"How do you feel about it?" He then asked gently, knowing all too well that this was a very important thing that had suddenly happened in her life.

"Light." She said with a little chuckle. "I feel like all the anger I was keeping inside for years has finally disappeared, and it feels so damn good. It's like I can actually enjoy our future completely, now."

"You deserve this so much." Killian then murmured, dropping a little kiss to her forehead and making her shiver in pleasure. "You deserve apologies, and I'm so glad he's finally given them to you. Do you know what has happened for him to do this after all this time?"

"It's Henry." She explained, smiling in the dark. "I don't know every detail, but he's been trying to convince him to do that for weeks, apparently. And he's finally decided to do it today."

"Henry, of course..." Killian said, grinning as well. "You raised an amazing lad, my Swan. You can be proud."

"We did it together." She corrected him. "You've been there for him since the moment we met."

"The most amazing years of my very long life." He replied tenderly. "And I love you a bit more every day."

"I love you, too. So much."

Her heart was beating so fast at his words she thought that he could hear it too. He seemed as happy as she was that Neal had finally allowed her to move on from all the rage she'd been keeping inside for so long, and she snuggled a bit more against him, still smiling. He held her close for a long time, then moved to place his hand on her bump and feel the babies kick in there. He waited for a second, then said in a low voice.

"And now two little princesses are coming to join our perfect little family."

"I just can't wait to meet them." She said, placing her hand beside his on her stomach. "I can't wait to hold them in my arms and raise them with you, because they have the best dad they could ever wish for."

"And they have the most incredible mum in the world." He replied, his smile brighter than anything. "We'll meet them soon, and I just can't wait either. Maybe we should start thinking about ideas for the names, what do you think?"

Time was indeed passing quickly, and the arrival of their little girls was getting more and more real with each passing day. The nursery was now over, ready to welcome their two little miracles. Killian had refused for her to do any physical work during that time though, and her parents had painted the walls while they were deciding on what they wanted the room to look like. Two little cribs, made out of white wood, were now placed in the middle of the room, and the drawers and wardrobe were already full of fluffed animals and small little outfits their friends had made for their babies to come.

Her smile widened at her husband's offer, as she knew that finding names before the girls were born was probably a good idea. But now that she'd told everything about what had happened that day to her husband, she was suddenly exhausted and she preferred to wait to be at her best before searching for this very special choice. She then yawned and buried her face in the crook of his neck, saying.

"Maybe another time? I'd love to, but I'm tired."

"As you wish, my love. Sleep, you need to rest. We'll talk about this later, don't you worry."

Happy and finally free from the weight of her anger, her dreams were good ones that night. In them, she was watching Henry and twin girls with blond hair and blue eyes running around the gardens and laughing at the sky, and she knew that it was a vision of her future. And it was going to be wonderful.


	43. Chapter 43

Emma was awakened that morning by little kisses going down from her jaw to her neck, and her husband's lips gently sucking at the thin and sensitive skin there. Still half asleep, she let go of a little moan of pleasure at the amazing sensations that were arising in her. She would have been a bit frustrated to be woken up that early in the morning if the shivers that were running up her spine at the touch of Killian's mouth against her weren't making her feel so good. She ended up opening an eye after a few seconds and reluctantly pulled away from his embrace, rolling on her back to be able to look at him. He was staring at her so lovingly she couldn't help but smile, and she felt her heart skipping a beat when he tenderly pecked her lips and said in a low voice.

"Happy birthday, my love."

Her smile widened a little bit more, and she approached him for another kiss, just wanting for their embrace to last for a bit longer. He kept her close when she pulled away, wrapping both his arms around her and kissing the top of her head in a sweet gesture. She let go of a small sigh of happiness, and whispered after another few seconds of silence.

"Thank you, babe."

She buried her face in the crook of his neck to breathe him in as he was gently stroking her back, the feeling making butterflies appear in the pit of her stomach. Killian would always make sure that the day of her birthday was a special one, and she couldn't wait to know what he had in mind for her this year. He knew that, for decades, she'd had to live this moment alone, without love or anyone to celebrate it with, and he wanted to somehow make it up for loss time. He didn't need to do all of that for her to know that he loved her so much, but this was always nice, she had to admit it, and she knew that this day would be a perfect one, as always.

The year before had been an emotional one for sure, since it'd been the day where she'd discovered that she was actually the Lost Princess, the day where she'd found parents she'd thought lost forever. They were also celebrating her first year in the castle that day, and she knew that David and Snow were pretty excited about this. They'd never thought they could all be reunited some day, and she couldn't believe that it'd already been a year since she'd arrived in this palace that had now become a home. It'd passed so fast, despite everything they'd gone through, and so much had changed. But she was happy to be there, sincerely, and she knew that her life would be a good one, finally.

Killian and her stayed in bed for a long while that day, sharing a morning hug and not wanting to part from each other. They kept still until her stomach started to rumble loudly, what made her husband laugh out loud. He moved to reach her bump then, leaning to press a kiss on it and whispering with laughter in his voice.

"It sounds like our little princesses really like to be the center of attention, don't they?"

"That they do." She smiled, absently stroking her stomach to feel her little girls kicking. "They're very active for sure. But I love them both so damn much already."

"Aye, me too." Killian answered lovingly, head over heels for their babies ever since he'd learned about their existence. "Come on, now, let's go get breakfast. It is bad form to make the birthday girl wait, isn't it?"

She nodded with a smile, amused by his comment, and she let him help her to sit back up on the bed as he was keeping her hand in his for a second longer than necessary, obviously not wanting to feel her pull away. They were still both naked from their moment the night before, and she quickly put on a comfortable outfit as Killian was doing the same beside her. He let their fingers interlace all naturally again when he was done, and he led her out of the room, his thumb drawing little circles on her skin and making her shiver comfortably.

"Happy birthday, Mom!"

They both turned to see Henry cheerfully running toward them, and he immediately wrapped his arms around his mom's neck to bring her close. At first a bit surprised to see him awake so early in the morning, she smiled at the fact that he'd obviously been waiting for them to be able to see her right away and she hugged him back, saying gently.

"Thanks, kiddo."

Their hug lasted for a while, and she was so happy to notice once more that even though he was growing up quickly, way too fast for her if she was being honest, he still seemed to love their moments spent together. He ended up pulling away, asking her how she was feeling and how the babies were, as every morning, and she could tell that he was going to be the best big brother for these little girls.

They shared a small conversation there, then decided to get to the main dining room, as they'd planned to have breakfast with her parents that day. The royal couple was already waiting for them when they got there, looking a bit impatient about these moments they were going to share all together, and they hugged her at the same time as she was letting their comforting arms embrace her completely. She smiled against them, David's hand coming to protectively cradle her head as always, feeling so lucky to have such amazing people in her life. She would never stop being grateful for them.

"Happy birthday, sweetheart." Her father said, the emotion obvious in his voice as he was talking.

"And happy first anniversary of you being the princess." Her mother added cheerfully, what made Emma chuckle slightly.

She thanked them both with a smile she couldn't erase from her face, and followed them to the dining table, where Kate and Chiara were waiting for her as well to wish her a good day. Barely an hour had passed since she'd woken up, and she was already feeling so loved and surrounded she couldn't even believe it. She could feel her eyes filling in with tears of joy at the thought that she really would never be alone again. So many people cared about her, and she wished she could have gone back in time and told the lost little girl she was back then that she would be happy someday, and that she really was worth it after all.

She was turning thirty that day, and she'd been alone during most of that time. Of course, ever since he'd arrived into the world, Henry had always been her little ray of light in the dark, but taking care of a child all by herself hadn't been an easy thing, even if it'd been worth every sleepless night and hard moments.

But then Killian had arrived in her life, and he'd made her feel loved and safe like never before. They'd found their place in the world together, and now they had a family and were still building it out of the strength of their love. So much had changed in barely a few years, and she knew that one day, they would really manage to be completely, utterly happy after all. For her next birthday, there would be two little girls in the castle to celebrate it with her as well, and thinking about that was making her trust the future despite everything that was still going on in her life.

Killian seemed to guess all the feelings that were going on inside of her, because he came to wrap his arm around her waist and press a little kiss to her temple, making her melt against him. After all this time, he was still making her feel the exact same way. Very softly, so she was the only one to hear, he whispered  _I love you_  against her skin, and she swore that her love for him was bigger than anything else in the entire universe on that moment. Then he took her hand and gently led her to the table, and her stomach started to rumble loudly when she finally saw everything that was waiting for her there.

All the food she loved so much, especially since the beginning of the pregnancy and the cravings that came with it, was lying in front of her and she couldn't help but smile. She even spotted cherry pie, which they would usually never have for breakfast, and the little attention coming from her family truly touched her heart. One of the twins gave her a little kick, as if happy as well, and she placed her hand over her stomach before turning to Killian, who had a small smirk on his lips and was very obviously waiting for her reaction.

"Really?" She just said, because this was truly telling her that this day would be a good one.

"Happy?" He simply asked, pulling out a chair for her to sit on it.

"Very. Thank you."

"Anything for you, my darling."

Breakfast happened in such a good mood she felt like her heart was going to explode from happiness. They shared cheerful and light conversations and she couldn't quite believe how lucky she was to be surrounded by such amazing people. She'd truly found her place by their side, they were her home and she loved them more than anything in the entire universe. Despite all the hardships they had to face every day, she knew that beside them, she could overcome anything. And she really couldn't wait to know what the future had in store for all of them. Happiness, she was sure of it.

When they finally finished their meal, Snow turned back to her daughter with a huge smile that told Emma she definitely had something in mind. A bit intrigued by her mother's expression, she looked at her husband to silently ask him what was happening, but Killian seemed strangely happy as well and she guessed that something she still knew nothing about was probably going on. She knew how fond her family was of surprises, and she couldn't hold back a smile. She used to be scared of not knowing what was going to happen next, but not anymore. She knew that whatever this was all about, she was going to love it. These people knew her better than anyone else after all.

"Alright, honey." The Queen then stated, still smiling brightly. "We have a little surprise for you, and for that, we need you to go back to your room for a bit and put on a more formal outfit. Chiara is going to go with you to be able to help you get ready, okay?"

"Should I be worried about this?" Emma then joked, already getting up because she knew that her mother wouldn't really answer any of her questions, and she would have to do whatever she wanted her to.

"Of course, not." David laughed at her comment. "I promise you're going to love it. We'll call for you when it will be time to come down, alright?"

Emma just grinned and nodded, amused by all the secrets they were making about this unexpected event. She was feeling like a child they wanted to surprise and make happy, and she guessed that her parents just wanted to offer her everything they hadn't been able to for all those years. These decades of unhappiness she was dragging with her seemed so far way now that she had so many incredible people around her. She took Killian's hand in hers as he was leading her back to their apartment, Chiara and Henry sharing a conversation behind them. Still smiling because she just couldn't help it, she asked her husband.

"Do you know what this is all about?"

"Of course, I do." He answered with a mysterious smirk that made her giggle. "But there's no way I'm telling you anything about it now. You'll have to wait for a bit. It's the entire point of a surprise, darling."

She rolled her eyes, falsely annoyed at him, but her grin was still etched on her face when he leaned to press another kiss to her lips. He was looking at her like she was a goddess, and she thought once more that this day was definitely going to be perfect. It had started so well, and if she didn't know what her family had planned for her, she was sure that it was going to make her very happy.

* * *

"You look beautiful, Emma." Chiara said kindly, finishing the long braid that was holding her friend's hair back from falling in her face.

She smiled at her reflection while looking in the mirror, truly touched by the sweet comment. Killian had left them alone for her to get ready – and probably to help her parents with whatever was going on downstairs as well, she could guess it easily – and she was alone in the room with her friend. The latter briefly placed her hand on Emma's shoulder, then gestured for her to get up so she could look at herself more easily in the big looking glass of the room and appreciate the result of their time together.

Spinning on herself, she realized that she was actually feeling like a real princess, this fact still a bit strange to accept sometimes. The long and complicated braid Chiara had spent long minutes making was falling in her back, and she'd put on a light blue dress that was doing nothing to hide her growing bump. If she could sometimes have troubles accepting the changes her body was going through, she was also truly happy that her little girls' existence was obvious to everyone. It meant that they were growing healthy in there, and she was feeling good this time when she gently stroked her stomach under her friend's tenderized gaze.

Three knocks on the door made both of the women suddenly turn, and her friend instantly informed her that she was going to go downstairs and would come back when it would be time for her to come join them. Emma knew she actually wanted to leave her and Killian alone for a bit, and she smiled at her husband as he was entering the room. The look he gave her when he saw her dress made her heart skip a wonderful beat, and she felt herself blushing a little bit at his amazed expression.

His lips slightly parted, he was looking like he'd just seen an angel. She let go of a small chuckle as he was coming to wrap his arms around her waist and held her close to his chest. He pressed a little kiss to her forehead, then her lips, and he said in a low and gentle voice that made her shiver in expectation.

"You, my love, look absolutely stunning."

She smiled and looked up at him to drop a small peck to his lips once again, just wanting to be as close to him as she could possibly get. His hand came to rest over her stomach, as always, and they deepened the kiss, his hook placed on the small of her back to hold her even a little bit tighter. She smiled and felt him grin against her too. The day was barely starting, yet she could feel that it was going to be one of the best already.

After a while simply spent at kissing, as in love as ever, they decided to go join Henry in the living room to spend a bit of time with their son. They sat down with him on the couches in front of the fireplace and stayed there as the afternoon was slowly settling, the three of them simply talking, teasing each other and laughing like the united family they all were. These moments were so precious to her, she wished she could have frozen them to play them back in her mind whenever she wanted to. She could already imagine how their lives would be in a few months, when the girls would have finally joined them. They would spend hours there, living quiet and amazing moments and simply enjoying their time together, because it was the most important thing after all.

If she'd been scared at first to know that she was having twins, she couldn't have been happier about it now that she'd gotten used to the idea. She had realized that, deep down and if she'd never really thought that it would be possible, she'd always wanted a big family. They were going to build a safe and loving place for their children, without screams, cries or pain. They weren't going to be broken like Killian and her had been. They were going to know love, and their family would always be their safe heaven whenever they needed it to be. They would never be scared of the future, because their past would be incredible. And she just couldn't wait to offer everything she'd never had and more to her amazing three children.

Chiara only came back to the apartment a while later, what told Emma that the surprise her parents had prepared for her was probably a big one. Henry and Killian exchanged happy smiles that made her raised her eyebrows in surprise, but she didn't ask any questions, knowing that she wouldn't manage to get any answer anyway, and followed them as they were leading her to the ballroom. She was slowly starting to guess what this was all about when Killian stopped in front of the closed door there, gesturing for her to walk before him.

"After you, your highness." He said playfully.

She rolled her eyes but laughed at the same time, amused by the fact he always wanted to make her smile. Glancing at him and shaking her head, she then answered his request and felt him placing his hand on the small of her back in order to encourage her to move forward and open the door. She took another second to do it and, immediately, loud and cheerful sounds coming from the other side made her startle slightly.

"Surprise!"

She blinked a few times, as if to make sure that what she was seeing was real. She needed a second to understand what was really happening, and she felt her heart growing in her chest at how grateful she was all of the sudden. If she'd guessed that her parents were perhaps planning a surprise party, she certainly hadn't expected them to put that much work into it. And it was making her so happy she couldn't quite express it with words.

Dozens of her friends were standing before her, smiling happily at her arrival. She first saw her parents and Kate, obviously at the front of the crowd as they'd planned this all thing, but also Ella and Thomas, Ariel and Eric, Aurora and Philip, Red, Granny and all those people she'd met during this year spent at the castle. They were all looking so genuinely glad to be there to celebrate her birthday with her, she thought that she was going to cry. They'd all come for her, and she couldn't even tell how much this was touching her heart.

A huge table was placed in the middle of the room, on which was lying piles of food and a big cake covered with candles. In a corner, an orchestra was standing, ready to play and let the crowd dance and have fun. Everything was colorful, full of happiness and joy, and she just stayed there, not knowing what to say or do at how incredible this all was.

Seeing her obvious surprise, Killian laughed quietly as her parents were approaching her for a hug. She embraced them back, not knowing what to say to tell them how grateful she was, so she just held them close and swallowed back the sob of emotion that was obstructing her throat. They'd done all of this for her, to celebrate the birthday of the little girl who had once thought she would never be enough for anyone. Her life had changed so much in so little time, and she could have cried at how happy she was.

"That's what you should have known every year, since the day you were born." Snow whispered to her ear, and she could guess at her voice that she was on the verge of crying as well. "It's never too late though, right?"

"Thank you so much." Emma murmured in return, feeling like she really was going to start sobbing uncontrollably at how overwhelmed she was. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

They both pulled away from her with big, moved smiles on their faces, and they let her go to greet the guests that had come to be with her for this very special moment. They all wished her a happy birthday and congratulated them again for the twins that would come to join them very soon, and she felt so full of love she didn't quite know what to do with herself. Killian stayed with her this all time, one arm wrapped around her shoulder, as Henry had gone to meet his friends who had come to spend some time with him as well.

She recognized the little Violet Killian had told her about, and she tried to hide a tenderized smile when she saw her son approaching her. Henry still hadn't spoken to her about his friend, probably too embarrassed to admit that he liked her, but it was obvious that they were close. Her little boy had grown a lot, she thought, but she was so proud of the man he was slowly becoming. And she loved him beyond everything she could ever have expressed.

After a while spent at talking with their friends, they heard small steps coming in their direction and someone tugged at Killian's sleeve rather impatiently. They both looked down to see the cheerful expression Melody was displaying, as she was looking at Emma's husband with eyes full of admiration. She'd liked Killian from the moment she'd first met him, because he'd always made sure that she was feeling included and listened to, and she was amazed once again by how good he always was with kids. The little girl knew them well now, and she seemed much less shy than the first times she'd seen them. She grinned from ear to ear and asked enthusiastically.

"Can you dance with me, Killian?"

She'd asked for a dance at their wedding, and hadn't forgotten the fact he'd accepted, apparently. It made her husband chuckle, and he picked the little girl up from the ground as she was wrapping both her arms around his neck, smiling even bigger because she knew that he was going to accept her request already. Killian exchanged a look with his wife, then said to Ariel's daughter.

"It would be my pleasure, lass. But only for a little while, aye? Another princess is waiting for me."

The little girl nodded at that and Emma shook her head, truly tenderized by the little exchange. Killian leaned to press a quick peck to his wife's cheek, then walked to the dance area with the kid babbling happily in his arms. Left alone for a while, Emma took advantage of this moment of quiet to go grab a piece of that cake that she'd been eyeing since the beginning of the party. Her plate in her hand, she looked around her for a second to decide on where to go next, and saw Kate waving at her in the distance, as she was sitting at one of the tables. Emma smiled and walked to join her immediately, settling beside her with a smile, happy to be able to spend some moments with her friend.

"Do you like the party?" She asked, looking sincerely glad to see Emma smiling so big because this entire surprise.

"I love it." She answered immediately, taking a bite of the cake before adding. "This is amazing. Where is Chiara? Did she leave you all alone?"

"I think one of the dwarfs like her company quite a bit." She giggled teasingly.

Emma looked in the direction her friend was gesturing to, noticing the young cook clumsily sharing a dance with Happy and looking a bit awkward about this entire situation. She laughed at her friend's expression, and her eyes moved to look at the rest of the dance area and stop on Killian, standing in the middle of the crowd. He was still holding Melody in his arms, and said something to the little girls that made her laugh out loud.

She had a vision of their future right then, and her heart skipped a wonderful beat. She could see him with their girls, holding them close and making them laugh with his silly jokes. She could guess how protective he would be with them, and how much they would love their amazing dad.

They already did adore him, if she thought about him. They would always react to his voice in the most incredible way, and he was the only one able to calm them down during those nights where they were so agitated she could barely sleep at all. He would sing them lullabies that seemed to rock them to sleep, and would kiss Emma's forehead, telling her to finally get the rest she needed so much. Her babies were already daddy's girls, and her family was so perfect it made her want to cry sometimes.

"He's a wonderful father." Kate then stated, having noticed that Emma was watching her husband.

"The best." She answered instantly. "I can't believe how good he's always been with Henry, and I can't wait to see him with the girls. Our children are is everything and I'm so lucky to have met him."

"You two are perfect for each other, and you're going to raise the most beautiful family. There is no doubt about that."

"Thank you, Kate." Emma said, truly touched by the sudden comment. "It really means a lot."

They stayed silent for another second to let the moment last, then the conversation all naturally came to take another turn. They talked about what was new in Kate's life and shared jokes and laughter, and Emma was so glad to see that she really had found true friends to share what was going on in her life with, people she could actually trust. Feeling so surrounded was truly making her the happiest she'd ever been

Kate announced that she was going to go join Chiara, who had managed to escape from Happy after a few more dances, as Killian was coming back to the table to join them. She greeted him before walking away, and Emma looked up at her husband with a cheerful smile, glad to feel him close again. He dropped a kiss to the top of her head and placed a piece of pie before her on the table, before sitting down and saying gently.

"Sorry it took so long. The lass apparently really likes dancing, and I didn't have the heart to refuse this to her."

"Don't apologize." Emma immediately answered. "I love seeing how good you are with kids. It makes me imagine how you're going to be with our girls, and them and Henry really have the best father in the entire world. I love you."

He almost literally melted at her words, and he didn't say anything in return but leaned toward her to kiss her lips, as if as a quiet thank you for her sudden statement. She couldn't believe that he was actually doubting himself sometimes, because he was such a good man, and she was simply trying to help him see that. She just wanted him to know how incredible he was, always, and hoped that he would give himself the credits he deserved someday.

They were interrupted in their embrace by a little awkward cough, and they parted to discover Henry now standing in front of them, his cheeks reddened in embarrassment. "Hum… Mom? Dad?"

Emma laughed at her son's expression and opened her mouth to apologize for not having heard him sooner, when she noticed that Violet was standing beside him as well, and was looking a bit uncomfortable, as if she didn't really know what to say or do. She'd only seen the little girl from afar until then, and she immediately noticed how kind and gentle she seemed. Henry turned to her and smiled, as if trying to comfort her, then looked back at his parents to continue.

"I just wanted to introduce you guys to my friend Violet."

Emma's smile widened at that, as she was realizing that her son was finally confident enough to talk about this girl that seemed to be so important to him. Killian raised his eyebrows, and she immediately understood that he was about to tease Henry about this all thing. Their son had told him about Violet after all, and he knew all about what was going on between them. Not wanting her son to get uncomfortable or embarrassed in front of his friend, she then gently elbowed her husband in the ribs to force him to stay quiet, glaring at him so he wouldn't try anything. She saw him biting his lips to try not to start laughing, and she said to prevent him from starting a conversation.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Violet. Do you live in town?"

"I do." She answered shyly, looking a bit intimidated by the meeting. "I actually don't live far from the castle at all."

"That's nice!" Emma replied with a big smile, just wanting to help the little girl feel better, because she really had nothing to be afraid of. "Well, I just want you to know that you're welcome here whenever you want. We'll be happy to have you in the castle when you want to come and say hi to Henry."

"It's very kind of you." She said politely, even if she seemed to be getting a bit more confident as the conversation was going on. "I would love to come here more often, but with everything that is happening in the city lately, my dad doesn't really want me to get out of the house too often. I had to insist for hours for him to let me come here today, and he only accepted because the King is one of his closest friends."

"I understand." Emma nodded kindly. "But I promise we'll find a solution for you kids to see each other more often. If you want to spend time together, we won't let what is going on stop you, right?"

The children exchanged happy looks at her promise, and they seemed so delighted she really swore she would do whatever she needed to for them to keep on seeing each other, because they seemed so happy together. If Henry's first love had to be this girl, she was more than glad about it, because she seemed like such a sweet kid. She was polite, kind, and they really seemed to be getting along amazingly well. Her son offered her a grateful smile, thanking her silently for her words, and she winked discreetly before stating.

"Come on, go have fun now. It's not every day that there's a party like this one, and you have to enjoy it."

They both nodded cheerfully and walked away together, big grins on their faces at the sweet conversation they'd all shared. She looked at them tenderly for a few seconds, then turned back to Killian, who was displaying a falsely outraged expression that made her laugh out loud. His eyebrows raised, he asked.

"Why did you do that?"

"Because I needed to stop you from teasing Henry about this. It certainly wasn't the right moment to do so. He was looking embarrassed enough as it was already."

"You know that I wouldn't have joked too much if I'd seen he really was feeling bad about it." He defended himself. "I just wanted to help them relax a bit. The poor kids seemed terrified."

"They were worried about our possible reactions, I guess." She chuckled. "I'm happy that he finally introduced us to Violet, though. They seemed to be close, and I'm glad Henry finally has friends of his age here."

"He's growing up so fast." Killian sighed, looking suddenly quite serious, before a small smirk appeared on his face and she just knew he was going to start joking again. "Soon he'll leave home for good and he will get married before we know it."

"Oh gods, please stop it." She rolled her eyes, even if she couldn't help the smile that was spreading on her face at his silly comments.

"He'll have children of his own, as well. We'll blink and before we know it, he'll be a father."

"You're seriously already seeing us being grandparents?" She asked, deciding to play along wit him. "I'm pregnant, don't go too fast. We still have a bit of time before that happens, believe me."

"Time goes fast." He replied playfully. "Before we can even fully realize it, Henry will have built his own family."

"And our girls will be married too, right?"

"Bloody hell, don't say that." He replied, wincing and making her laugh out loud at the face he was making. "I prefer not to think about it. I refuse for them to start dating before they're at least thirty. And if any girl or boy hurt them, they'll be reminded that I have a hook for a left hand."

"Gods, babe. It seems like you already have everything planned." She stated, still laughing at the situation.

"Aye, that I do, my Swan. And if I'm sure of something, it is that fifty years from now, when our kids will have children of their own, I will still wake up next to you every morning and find you a bit more beautiful than the day before. I love you."

"I love you, too." She answered, blinking rapidly to chase the tears this statement had made appear in her eyes.

She leaned to get closer to him then, and kissed him for a very long time, smiling all through it and her heart beating fast at how much she loved this man. This day was absolutely incredible, and she was so happy she could hardly believe it sometimes. And it was all thanks to him.

The party lasted for a very long time. Killian and her shared dances for a while, wrapped in each other's arms in the middle of the room, and she felt like her heart could explode at how much she loved him. Despite everything that was going on, despite the villains that were trying to steal their happiness away, nothing of the sort would ever happen. Their love was way too strong for that, and they would always be able to get through every storm together.

* * *

"Swan, I'm really not sure that this is a good idea. Are you certain you want to do this?"

"Killian, we can't just stop living because we're scared of something possibly happening. It can't go on that way, or I swear I'm gonna turn crazy."

"We agreed on you staying inside the fences of the castle until the twins are born. I know it's hard, but it's for your own safety. When the girls will be there with us, you won't have to hide anymore, but we can't risk anything while you're with child."

"Regina hasn't been attacking for days, now. Maybe she's calmed down, or maybe she's trying to find another plan, but the point is she's gone for now. I just want to enjoy the fact she isn't here right now. I can't stay locked inside forever, Killian. I need to move."

"I know you do, but who knows what can happen while we are out there? I don't want you to be put in any danger. I don't want to risk losing either of you, I couldn't stand it if something bad happened."

"Nothing is going to go wrong in the short time we are out there, babe. I don't risk anything, anyway. The guards will be with us at all time, and Regina won't try to approach us while she knows she can get caught at any moment. We just need to do this, okay?"

Her husband sighed at that, and nervously ran his hand through his hair, as if only half convinced by her arguments. He was still looking too worried to really agree on her getting out of the castle, and she just stared at him, wanting him to see her point. She could understand his fears easily given what had happened the last time she'd got out in the city, but Regina was hiding for days now and she felt like it was the right time to get out there, even if it was the last time until she gave birth to the girls. It was now or never. What were the odds of the witch coming to attack at the exact moment she was in town, anyway?

She was insisting so much because, on that exact moment, she wanted nothing more than to get out of this palace. She was getting claustrophobic, and it was slowly driving her crazy. She just needed to do something about it. Besides, Henry really wanted them to take this little walk through the city while everything was calm at last. Violet had come back to the castle two days after her birthday to spend some time with him, and seeing her son so happy had been worth all the effort they'd had to make to convince her father to let her come. He'd only accepted for her to walk the five minutes to get to the castle if guards were accompanying her all the way there.

Unfortunately, Regina had attacked a nearby village that exact same day, scaring everyone in town, and he was now completely refusing for her to leave the house. Henry just wanted to see his friend and Emma simply wished for him to be happy, but she just couldn't let him go out there all alone, this would have been insane.

They were going to be surrounded by several guards to keep them safe during their little excursion, a real group of them there to stop anything from getting close to the family. Henry had asked Neal to come as well, and if this idea was far from pleasing Emma, she hadn't tried to protest either. Her son just wanted all his parents by his side for once, and he wished for his birth father to meet Violet at last. She really didn't want to refuse this to them. She simply could ignore her ex-lover, and she would be just fine. The only obstacle she was meeting to take this walk was thus Killian, who was still staring at her, looking less than convinced by what she was trying to tell him.

"If the lad really wants to go, I can accompany him. You should stay in the castle."

"Killian." She sighed, hoping that he would finally stop protesting so much, because she swore it was driving her crazy. "Violet's house is five minutes away from here, we won't be in any danger during this short time. I just want to go out there, I'm going to turn insane f I stay here for a minute longer, I swear. I can't take this anymore."

She placed her hand on her stomach, looking straight into her husband's eyes to try and finally make him agree with her. It'd been six weeks since she'd last go outside, and she felt like time was stretching as she didn't have a choice but stay inside the fences of the palace. She knew that this was the safest decision they could have taken and she just wanted the girls to be alright as well, but she was so sick of this. She just wanted to live a normal pregnancy, without having to worry about Regina or any villains attacking them. She didn't want to let the fear take over her life, because she was feeling like it was making the witch win and she certainly wasn't going to let such a thing happen.

She could truly understand why Killian was so scared, though. Despite what she was telling him to try and convince him to go out, she knew that the risk of Regina attacking them was still as present as ever, no matter what she wanted to believe. This was also the reason why she didn't want Killian and Henry to go out there without her. She would turn insane, staying in the castle without knowing what was happening in town, aware that they could be in danger and she couldn't do anything about it. All she wanted was for her family to be safe and happy, and she just wished they could do this without having to worry every second of every day.

Killian seemed to fight against his own instincts for a while, hesitating on what to do. It was obvious he just wanted to give her everything she ever wanted, but he was also so scared. Finally, he took a few steps toward her and cupped her cheek, looking into her eyes and saying with another little sigh.

"Alright, Swan, I guess you win. Just promise me that if you feel the slightest danger, you'll go right back to the castle, aye? I don't want any of you to be unsafe out there, and I don't want something like last time to happen ever again."

"I promise." She said immediately, because she knew that he was right on that one and she wasn't going to try and sword fight again while being pregnant with the girls. "We'll ask the guards to make sure that, whatever happens, I'll get home safe. But Henry and you have to come with me in case something happens, okay? I don't want you to be put in any danger, either."

"You have my word, lass."

She smiled at that and, as if to prove that they meant their own words, they kissed to silently promise each other they would do anything to be okay at the end of the day. Her family wouldn't get destroyed, never, she wouldn't let it. She loved all of them way too much for that.

A few minutes later, they were all ready to leave. Killian was very obviously nervous, and was holding onto her hand as if she were about to disappear and he was doing everything he could to keep her by his side. His grip only tightened a bit more when Neal came to join them, as if wanting to protect her from getting even more hurt by this man.

Her ex-lover was thoughtful enough to let some distance between all of them, and the smile Henry offered his family when they found themselves surrounding him was worth everything in the world. He seemed so happy to be able to go see his friend, and they were accompanied by so many guards she could barely see the road before her. They were safe. They were going to be okay.

They got out of the castle after waving goodbye to her parents, who were both looking as stressed as Killian was. Thunder was rumbling in the distance, announcing a storm that would surely strike during the night. November was well settled in the kingdom now, and the coldness of the air was reaching the bones. Emma buried her nose in her scarf to try and keep warm, but smiled slightly despite the uncomfortable shivers that were making her teeth clash in her mouth. She was so glad to be able to go out at last, as if they were a normal family and didn't have anything to be afraid of.

The town had changed in her absence though, it would have been impossible not to notice it. The streets were far from as animated as they'd once been, and no one was smiling or stopping to talk around them anymore. People weren't watching the shop windows or discussing with the sellers. They were all hurrying to their destination, looking down at their feet and almost running to try not to spend too much time outside.

It was truly paining her to see how much this city had changed because of Regina and all the suffering she was bringing with her. But she quickly found her optimism back, because she was so certain they would manage to defeat the Evil Queen. Their fight would soon become nothing more than a bad memory, and she was refusing for her children to grow up in a world where they were scared to go outside because of a woman that had been unable to forgive a 10-year-old child. She was going to fight until the witch wasn't representing any danger for any of the citizens anymore, and she wouldn't stop until everyone was finally safe and sound.

At first, the journey to Violet's house happened peacefully. Henry was talking with Neal, walking a few steps before Emma and Killian. She could feel her husband gradually relaxing on the way, even if he was still holding her hand pretty tightly. She smiled to comfort him, and the girls gave little kicks, as if showing how happy they were to finally be out of the castle as well.

All was good until a huge noise made them all startle, and she thought her heart was going to explode in fear.

Everything happened so fast she could barely process it. The information crashed in her brain as she was trying to find a solution to get everyone out of this, and the best way to act against it. But she was panicking, her own heart was pounding to her ears, and she had no idea of what to do to stop this madness from happening.

Regina was now there in front of them, this cruel smile she'd seen so many times in her nightmares etched on her face. Rumpelstiltskin was right beside her, grinning as well, his black eyes seeming to look right into her soul. She understood right there that she'd been so wrong to want to go out that day. They'd probably learned about the walk she wanted to take, and they'd decided to attack, to hurt her once and for all. And she had no idea of what to do to defend herself.

She started trembling, searching for a way to get out of there without anyone getting hurt in the process. She could see that her enemies were about to attack though, and her first reflex was to jump froward and stand before her son, to prevent them from getting any closer to him. The guards were surrounding Regina, trying to find the right moment to catch her, and Emma tried to convince herself that this was it, they were going to get the witch at last and no one would never suffer because of her ever again. Killian grabbed her sleeve though, and pulled he back to him so she was protected as well. He placed himself in front of Henry, and growled in between his teeth.

"Swan, go back to the castle."

"You promised to come with me." She replied, her eyes still staring at Regina, who was following the conversation with an amused smirk.

"Emma! Go back, I'll come join you right away, just get yourself to safety first!"

She nodded at that, well aware that he was right after all and that she needed to protect her children above anything else. They had an agreement, and she wasn't going to break it. She moved to approach Henry and quickly take him with her back to the palace so he would be safe from her enemies as well, but Regina shook her head and a small, cruel laugh escaped her lips. She was looking at them like they were perfect idiots, and a shiver ran up Emma's spine in fear of what was going to happen next.

"I don't think things are going to go this way."

And before Emma could do anything, before she could even completely register her words, the Evil Queen moved her hand and the guards found themselves suddenly frozen in time. Some had been trying to approach her, others were still on their horses, but they weren't moving anymore, their expressions a mix of fear and frustration, as if they knew exactly what was happening to them but couldn't do anything about it.

Emma got surprised by this move for a second, and Regina took advantage of the fact the guards couldn't protect her anymore to throw her first spell, aiming right at her chest. She luckily saw it right on time, and avoided it with a careful jump to the right, letting go of a little grunt of surprise. She didn't want to know what this spell would have done to her, but she could tell that it wouldn't have been pleasant at all and it was definitely better for everyone that she'd managed to avoid it.

She tried to step back once again, wanting to do anything to protect Henry and the girls from this unexpected situation. But Regina was well determined to harm her this time, and she stepped forward in her direction, while the Dark One was staring at Killian, Henry and Neal, ready to attack and hurt them at any time.

Emma only realized then the bigger scene that was actually playing on that moment. Neal, who had changed his identity and had run to avoid seeing his father for so long, was finding himself right in front of him, now. Her ex-lover hadn't noticed Rumpelstiltskin yet though, looking down at Henry to try and find a way to help protect the little boy. The wizard couldn't recognize his son either, as he hadn't seen him since he was a child, and she could feel that the situation could shift completely when both parts would realize what was going on at last. She felt a knot forming in the pit of her stomach and tried to take some deep breaths to make it disappear. Somehow, she could tell that not everyone would come back home safe and sound from this, whatever she could try to do to avoid it.

She didn't have any more time to think about this, though. Regina seemed absolutely furious that her first try had failed, and after a second of quiet, she started throwing more and more powerful spells toward Emma, wanting to finally get to her. The latter managed to form a shield around her as Killian was still protecting Henry, but she could feel that she didn't have the entire control over her powers, and her bubble of safety wasn't going to last for very long. She couldn't fight with her sword against her enemy either, or she would risk hurting the twins even more. She couldn't put the babies in danger like that, but she really didn't know what to do to get out of this anymore.

She was finding it hard to breathe, and looked at her husband in a moment of pure panic. She couldn't help but think that this was all her fault, and she could feel tears appearing in her eyes. She'd insisted to come there, she'd thought that they would be safe with the guards by their side. She'd underestimated her enemy, and she was paying the price for that now. The witch was trying to weaken her until she was too tired to fight anymore, and it was going to work if she didn't find another solution very quickly.

She read pure terror in Killian's gaze too, as he had no clue of what to do to help her and keep on protecting their son at the same time. Neal was standing beside him to keep Henry as safe as possible as well, and she saw her husband turning back to her ex-lover and saying in between his teeth.

"Try to get out of here and get the help we need. Take Henry with you, I'll stay with Emma until we find a way to fight. Baelfire!" He yelled then, seeing that Henry's birth father was hesitating, obviously so scared of what could happen to all of them.

There was a second of stunned silence around them, and Emma understood at this exact moment that the fragile balance they were stuck in was about to explode completely. Killian had pronounced Neal's real name, and the Dark One was going to realize that his son was there. Something bad was going to happen. Someone was going to get hurt. She could feel it in her guts, and she suddenly wanted to cry.

Rumpelstiltskin then stared at the son he hadn't seen in decades, as Neal was still looking down at Henry, not grasping what was going on just yet. Regina hadn't stopped her attacks though, and she could feel her shield getting weaker and weaker. She could only keep on briefly glancing at Killian while trying to keep her defenses up, just wanting to stay safe. She had the awful feeling that the spells Regina was throwing her way were deadly, and she needed to get out of this alive. She couldn't leave Killian and Henry like that. She couldn't stop protecting her daughters. She just couldn't give up.

"Bae?" The Dark One finally whispered, not looking like he remembered what he was doing there at all as the only thing he could see anymore was his long lost child.

Neal finally looked up after all this time, and met his father's dark eyes. His expression changed and he seemed to be frozen in place for an endless second. He needed an instant to react, and Emma could see that he was slightly shaking. And, finally, as if not believing in his own words, he murmured.

"Papa?"

She only noticed then that Henry had moved slightly, intrigued by what was going on and now looking at the Dark One intently. She wanted to scream to her son to stay near his father and not come any closer to the danger, but her attention was drawn by Regina once again. The witch moved to throw another attack at her, but then suddenly stopped, and a horrible smile appeared on her lips again. Killian saw that the Evil Queen had finally stopped torturing her, and ran to his wife to be able to keep her safe. But that way, he was leaving Henry alone with a man who was too surprised to really protect him, and she shouted immediately.

"Killian, no! Stay with Henry! Help Neal keep him safe, he can't do it alone!"

But it was too late, and her heart stopped when she understood what was going to happen now. Regina had noticed that her son was an easy target now that Killian had moved, and her grin widened even more. She had the advantage, and she was well aware of it. She said then, in an almost gentle voice that made Emma want to be sick with it.

"Since you don't want to let me attack you, I'm going to hurt your son. What better way to pain you, really. I doubt that you'll find a will to live when he'll be dead."

She wanted to let go of a scream of distress that never crossed her lips. She ran to the witch, wanting to make her lose her focus and forget about her target, anything to save her son. But the witch was faster than her, and she had the time to throw her magic toward Henry. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion from that moment. The sounds of the scene playing in front of her were barely reaching her anymore because of the panic, and all she could see was this black magic going right to her son's chest without her being able to do anything to protect him.

Completely in shock, her little boy didn't move as the spell was still rushing toward him. She finally managed to yell, but it was so desperate she could barely recognize her own voice. Tears were already streaming down her face, and Killian turned to run to Henry and get him out of the way and back to safety. They all knew he was too far away though, and she felt like her heart was getting ripped out of her chest.

Her son was going to get hurt, or worse, and she couldn't do anything to stop this. She hadn't been able to protect him, and all she wanted was for this to be a bad dream.

But then, as every single one of her cells were invaded with pain, everything shifted once again. Neal, who had kept his eyes on his father until then, still completely confused by what was happening, finally realized that Henry was in danger. He was the closest to the little boy, and he didn't seem to think as he was moving so fast no one could truly register what was happening.

He threw himself in front of Henry, forming a wall between her son and Regina. There was a huge noise when the light came in contact with his chest, and they all froze as everything was silent for a while. It was as if everyone was waiting for something to happen. She heard someone scream, but she couldn't tell who it was. Then Neal collapsed on the ground, unconscious. Or maybe dead. She just couldn't tell.

"What have you done?!"

Rumple's shout of pain seemed to ring in the quiet of the street. The sound finally brought her back to reality, and she realized that this wasn't a dream. This was really happening, and Henry was the one who was screaming. At the same time, she also noticed that she was now standing really close to Regina and she froze, not knowing what was the right thing to do.

She saw at the witch's look that she was well determined to kill her now that she had nothing else to protect her, and she braced herself for what was to come. But Regina didn't have the time to do anything else. The Dark One was now running to her, looking more furious than he'd ever been. She only had one second before he tackled her on the ground, and she took this small second to try to hurt Emma anyway.

She wanted to step away from the danger, to do something, but she was too shocked by everything that had happened in such little time. Henry in danger, Killian who had tried to save her, Neal. Neal, now dead on the ground at her feet. She could hear Henry's sobs, and she felt like something in her was shifting, something that would never be the same as it had before.

She didn't have time to do anything to protect herself. The spell Regina had managed to form before getting attacked by the Dark One hit her right in the chest, and she fell on her back, her breath stuck in her throat. The air wasn't reaching her lungs anymore, and she was suffocating. The gray sky seemed too bright above her as she was finding herself sinking into unconsciousness or worse, her brain deprived from oxygen unable to work anymore.

And then, just before closing her eyes, she saw Killian's face appearing above her. She could see the tears on his cheek and how he was shaking, and he placed his hand on her face, as if to keep her into reality. He was saying something, but she couldn't hear him. She only understood his words a second later, and she heard him whispering in a pleading voice.

"Emma, love, breathe. Stay with me, I promise you're going to be okay. Just breathe, keep fighting."

She would have wanted to listen to him, she really would. She would have wanted to let his deep voice encourage her and keep the touch of his skin against her, but she was just so exhausted. Her eyes closed on their own, and she felt herself going away already when she heard him scream after her.

"Swan, don't you dare leave me!"

But his voice wasn't strong enough to keep her there, and she sunk into endless darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo I'm truly sorry about this ending guys, I promise I'll do everything to update as soon as possible !


	44. Chapter 44

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for all the time it took to update! This story is very slowly coming to an end, and it means so much to me because it's been with me through the darkest of times and it holds such a special place in my heart. Thank you again for all the support and I hope you'll like this chapter!

The first thing Emma was able to feel as she was waking up was a sharp pain in her chest. It wasn't excruciating, but it was truly uncomfortable, and she didn't think while letting go of a little disapproving grunt. Aside from that strange feeling though, she was completely lost and couldn't remember anything else than the sound and the shock of something strong hitting her, and falling down on the ground while Killian was begging her to stay with him.

She needed a few more seconds to notice that they'd been whispers around her before, people sharing quiet conversations she couldn't quite understand, but that they were gone now. It was as if whoever was around her was waiting for something, but she didn't open her eyes right away to know more about what was going on. Her stomach was hurting, she was feeling like throwing up, and she could tell that she wasn't going to like learning about what had truly happened. She just wanted to stay in this blissful state of oblivion for a bit longer.

Because if she couldn't remember anything, she could tell that whatever had occurred that day had been bad. She could feel the anxiety arising in her guts, and she could guess that her brain had pushed away the memories to protect her from reality, at least for a little while. She was scared of what she was about to learn, and she simply needed to get ready for it.

"Emma? Love, are you awake? Can you hear me?"

Killian's voice finally convinced her to open her eyes. She could now feel his hand tangled up in her blond locks, and his broken voice was making her want to cry. So she swallowed hardly, and forced herself to look up at him. She needed an instant to get used to the darkness surrounding her and she frowned at that observation, confused. The night had settled outside, and she could recall that it'd been day the last time she'd been conscious. How long had she stayed that way?

She didn't have the time to ask herself any more question, though. Killian literally threw himself around her, holding her so close she could hear his heart beating in her own bones. He kissed her forehead, her temple, her nose, her lips, and everywhere else he could reach. One tear that was rolling down his face fell on her skin, and it made her want to start sobbing with him.

She was aching now, she was feeling dizzy and nauseous, but she ignored all of that to move and wrap her arms around him. She could tell he needed to be held close, and she would have done anything for him to feel better. She buried her face in the crook of his neck, and one tear streamed down her face without her really knowing the reason why she was crying.

"I was… Oh gods, I was so scared." He murmured, breathing her in as if to make sure that she was really there and wasn't going to go anywhere. "I thought that… That I had lost you for good."

"I'm so sorry." She apologized, even though she didn't really know what had happened for him to be so terrified. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"Don't be sorry, darling. Nothing that has happened was your fault. You tried to go back to safety, but you just couldn't. I'm simply relived to know that you're alright. All three of you."

"Are you sure about the babies?" She asked then, still wanting to be absolutely certain that she'd understood correctly and that the twins were fine. He nodded and she took another second before asking, sighing at the relief that was invading her briefly. "Killian, what happened?"

"You don't remember?" he asked in a strangled voice.

She very slowly shook her head, and saw his expression transform into pure sadness. Her mind felt blank, and she could tell she wasn't going to like what she was about to hear. She felt someone moving beside her, and finally noticed that her parents and Henry were sitting on the edge of her bed, all looking madly worried about her. The darkness of the room wasn't allowing her to see their faces as well as she would have wanted to, but she could sense all the feelings that were going trough their mind in her own bones, and it made her want to yell because they were all in pain, and she couldn't do anything about it.

She saw her mother trying to offer her a comforting smile, but it seemed fake to her. In a very gentle voice, she stated, briefly placing her had over her daughter's as if trying to soothe her. "We are so glad to know that you are okay, honey. Don't you worry, the babies are fine. You too, you've just gone through a big shock, and your body needs to recover from it. A healer came to see you while you were sleeping, and he said you needed to rest for the next few weeks, until you feel completely better."

"We're going to leave you to it, sweetheart." David added in a low voice. "I think the three of you need this time together."

This last statement did nothing to reassure Emma over whatever had happened earlier. She opened her mouth, wanting to ask if the situation really was that bad because she had a very bad feeling about all of this, but she got interrupted in her movement when Henry turned his head to look at his grandparents. A ray of moonlight caught his face, and she could finally notice the tears that were straining his cheeks. He seemed to still be sobbing quietly, and she swore her heart broke in half at the sight, even if she didn't know what was wrong just yet.

She held her hand out for him in a motherly instinct, just wanting to show him that she was there. He took it right away and squeezed it tight. Something really bad had obviously happened, and not knowing what it was was driving her crazy, so in a low, somewhat strangled voice, she finally asked. "Kid, what's wrong?"

Her question only seemed to make him want to cry even harder, and he simply shook his head, looking unable to speak at all. She felt like she was about to start sobbing too, at the pain she could read in his eyes. Killian ran his hand through her hair, as if trying to calm her down and prepare her for whatever she was about to learn. He knew that she was in distress already, and he just wanted to comfort her, but tears filled in her eyes as she was feeling completely, horribly helpless.

After one last smile that seemed more like a wince, her parents got up and walked to the door to leave them alone for the conversation they were about to share. David dropped a kiss to her forehead before going, as if trying to protect her from an invisible danger. Even though she still knew nothing about what had truly occurred, she could tell that they'd all been so scared to lose her that day, and she was just relieved to be able to show them that she truly was alright after all.

Finally, when her parents had left the room, she turned back to her husband and asked in a small voice. "Why are you all looking so sad? What's the matter?"

"You really don't recall anything? Anything at all?" Killian asked very softly, looking pained by her words as if he didn't want to make her relive a traumatic event she knew nothing about all over again.

"I can just remember a shock, and pain, and your voice calling for me." She explained, chewing on her lower lip. "That's all. I don't remember how I got hurt in the first place."

"Oh, Swan..." He sighed, looking like he was searching for the right words to explain everything. "It was Regina. She attacked us while we were outside of the castle, as we were walking Henry to Violet's. She's the one who cast the spell who made you pass out. You stayed unconscious for hours, and we were all so incredibly worried about you..."

"But I'm fine." She protested, wanting to know the real reason behind their tears, because there was something else, she could tell. "You can see that, I promise that I'm okay. Something else happened. Please tell me."

Hearing her last words, Henry let go of a husky sob that made her almost startle. He glued his hand to his mouth, as if trying to stay silent, and her heart tightened at the distress he was very obviously in. She blinked several times, completely lost about what to do to calm him down, even if the reality of what had happened was starting to slowly get clearer in her mind. Killian looked at their son for a second, sadness shining deep in his eyes, then he finally said with an endless gentleness, as if trying not to hurt any of them even more.

"Regina tried to attack Henry. I was too far to protect him from her spells, and Neal was the only one able to do something. That's what he did, and her magic hit him instead. He… Neal is dead, love. We couldn't do anything to save him."

The shock of the news was so hard that, for a second, she thought that she hadn't heard correctly. Her sight felt blurry, and she was suddenly convinced that this was all a mistake. It had to be, because this couldn't be happening. But, finally, everything went back to her at once and images of the scene she'd locked deep inside her mind finally came back to her conscience. The attack, the fear, her trying to run away to protect her children. Regina's cruel smile before she cast her spell, and Neal falling at Henry's feet. Rumpelstiltskin's cry of pain at seeing the son he'd searched for so long dead. He was gone. He really was, and there was nothing left to do to change that.

She honestly couldn't tell how she was feeling about this. She hadn't been feeling anything for Neal for a very long time. At first she'd been angry, but ever since he'd apologized, she hadn't felt anything than a blissful indifference toward him. If knowing that someone had died was always painful, it wasn't what was making her want to cry. What was breaking her heart was Henry's obvious distress, as he'd lost the birth father he'd only just found again. And he looked so devastated it made her want to yell.

She then held her arms out for him to come hug her, and said in a strangled and broken voice. "Henry… Oh Gods, kiddo. I'm so sorry."

He immediately accepted her embrace, and laid down beside her, his face buried in the crook of her neck as he was still sobbing quietly. On that moment, she felt like he was this little boy who would come to her for comfort after one of his nightmares again, at how fragile he suddenly felt.

But this time, the situation was way worse than a bad dream could ever have been. It was real. He was going to have to mourn the death of a family member, all because of this damn witch. He was suffering because this hell of a woman just couldn't leave their family alone. And on that moment, she realized that her tears were from rage for all the pain this Evil Queen was bringing to her loved ones, and for how much she wished she was gone already.

"I love you, kid. I'm so, so sorry." She repeated, just trying to calm him down and not really knowing what he needed her to say, because he was in such a state of shock it was actually scaring her.

"It's all my fault." He sobbed in her neck. "I'm the one who asked for him to come with me to Violet's. If it hadn't been for me, he would never have been out there, and he would still be alive right now. I'm the only one to blame for his death."

"Shh, Henry, please don't say that." She whispered, feeling like something was breaking inside of her at his words. "It's not your fault, baby. The only guilty one in this story is Regina, okay? She's the one who's creating so much pain. You didn't do anything wrong, kiddo. You are the most amazing little boy. Please don't ever think otherwise."

"I'm going to leave you two alone for a bit." Killian murmured then, obviously believing that they needed a moment just the two of them.

But before he could move at all, Henry looked up from his mother's shoulder, and slowly shook his head. Emma saw Killian stopping right away, as his son was holding out his hand for him to take. In a voice broken by his tears, he protested.

"No, Dad, please don't go. I… I need you."

Killian's breathing seemed to get stuck in his throat for a minute, as Henry's pain was very obviously tearing him apart too. He looked on the verge of crying as well, but simply nodded to show that he wasn't going anywhere. He lied down beside his family, wrapping his arms protectively around both Henry and Emma, and he gently rocked them to try to take a little bit of their pain away.

Their night was unsurprisingly awful. They just stayed there, snuggled against each other, unable to fall asleep because they were too scared of forgetting their reality and being hit by the pain all over again the next morning. They closed their eyes from exhaustion as the sun was slowly rising in the sky, but as she'd expected it to happen, the morning that came after was even worse. She could read the heartbreak in Henry's eyes every time he would wake up after a nightmare, and she could guess that he was just hoping for this entire story to be just a dream. But it was real, and it was making him cry even harder when he was realizing it.

Emma was trying her best to console him, but her own pain wasn't helping him and she was feeling completely useless. She was devastated by his tears. She couldn't remember ever seeing him that sad before. He was in such a pain, and she just wanted to take it all away and for him to be the happy little boy he once was again.

At least, she'd made peace with Neal before his death. She had let go of her anger, and it was making this entire situation a little bit easier to deal with. He'd offered apologies that were allowing her to put her own feelings aside, and be totally there for her little boy. That's all she could really do for now, she was aware of it, and she was going to do anything in her power for him to find his smile again, even if she could tell it was probably going to take some time. He needed to heal, and it wasn't going to happen all at once.

Killian was actually the one who was truly helping their son, she could feel it. With his strong arms and gentle words, he was making him feel safe and loved, assuring him he wasn't alone to get through this. At least her little boy was surrounded, and they were going to overcome this. He had a family who would have done anything for him, and she knew that was what he needed to most right now.

And when Henry had finally fallen back asleep, Killian would turn to her to try and soothe her own pain. He would murmur to her ear that everything was okay, and for a few seconds, she would actually believe him. She was feeling so helpless and guilty that she hadn't been able to keep Henry away from the pain, to keep him safe and protect him. She was feeling like she'd failed him as a mom, and it was making her want to cry. He was grieving now, and she couldn't do anything else than hold him close and promise him that there would be better days.

It was horrifying.

* * *

They buried him five days later. And for all this time, Henry was inconsolable, and so was she because she just couldn't find anything to make him feel better. She was forced to stay off her feet as much as she possibly could, to take it easy and make sure that the twins were all right after the shock she'd been through. Even if her family hadn't said anything out loud, she could read in their eyes that the fact she was okay after what had happened to her was a miracle. The spell Regina had thrown at her should have killed her, but she'd lost her focus because of Rumpelstiltskin's anger, and hadn't managed to cast her spell properly. Lucky for her, or she wouldn't have been there to tell this story.

Killian had told her that, after she'd passed out, Regina and the Dark One had both disappeared and no one had seen them ever since. She could only imagine how much pain the Evil Queen's ally was now going through, and it meant that he was very probably going to stop helping the witch after what she'd done. He'd looked for his son for years after all, and they'd barely had the chance to exchange two words before Neal had got killed in front of him.

Emma hated the Dark One for everything he'd done, especially to Killian, but she couldn't help but think that no one deserved to lose a child, no matter what they'd done. In any case, Regina's plan had taken an awful turn, and she was now probably hiding somewhere, afraid of the man who had once been there to help her destroy the world.

Killian was spending most of his time trying to comfort her and Henry, and was the only one able to make very small smiles sometimes appear on her face. The way he would hold her, how gentle and kind he was when he was telling her that he loved her, were only proofs of how scared he'd been to really lose her for good. It'd almost happened this time, and this thought was making her feel so lost. She was feeling almost numb with the pain of Henry's distress, as she didn't know what to do to help him anymore.

She wasn't particularly saddened by the death of her ex-lover, though. Of course, it was a dramatic event, and she was truly regretting the fact he'd gone so young, especially since he'd died as a hero, protecting her son. But she'd grieved him long ago, and she wasn't going to miss him. What was breaking her heart was how sad Henry was at all time, and how guilty he was feeling for what had happened, even though it wasn't his fault. She just wanted to see her little boy smile again. She just wished she could use her powers to come back in time and avoid Neal's death, but she couldn't and it was making her feel completely useless.

The two of them had actually managed to create a bond during those few months spent together, and she could tell how much Henry was missing Neal. He'd enjoyed their time together and her ex-lover had truly become a better person thanks to her son, and he just wanted this man back in his life. Emma and Henry would spend hours in bed, him holding onto her for dear life as if he were scared she was going to disappear too. He would hold Killian even tighter, searching for the comfort he needed so much, and in those moments she needed to look up at the ceiling and just try not to start crying yet another time.

She was allowed to leave her bed for the funeral. She wanted to be with Henry during this moment, to help him get through this. He needed his entire family by his side, and she was feeling strong enough to stay on her feet for a bit. She knew that this ceremony would mean a definitive goodbye, it would close the door to any hope Henry could still have to one day talk to Neal again, and it was going to be very hard for him to bear. It was her job to try and support him in all of this.

Chiara helped her to get ready that day. She put on a black dress, a dark headband holding her long hair back. Killian knew exactly how much she was dreading this moment, and he simply came to hold her close for a while, giving her a bit of his strength to help her face this incredibly hard event.

They still had a bit of time before having to go down to the gardens, and she was taking advantage of that to take as much as her husband as she possibly could, because she needed all the strength she could get for this. They'd decided together that Neal was going to be buried in the royal family's graveyard. Henry had insisted for that, and no one had had the heart to refuse this to him. It would have been too dangerous to get out of the fences of the palace anyway, and she felt like if this decision was making her son feel just a little bit better, it was the right thing to do.

Killian held her for a very long time, stroking her back and dropping a kiss to her forehead. "Are you going to be alright, love?"

"Do I have a choice?" She said in a low, exhausted voice.

He only slightly sighed at her answer, and leaned again to press a little peck on her lips. At this point, it was the best thing he could do to support her in this and they both knew it, and she felt so thankful for him. Finally, after another few seconds, they got out of the room, and she forced herself to pull herself together before joining her son, because he needed her to be strong more than ever.

Henry was curled up in front of the fireplace, buried in the couches of the sofa. He hadn't smiled once since Neal's death, and she swore her heart was literally breaking at seeing him like that. It made her want to cry again, but she blinked her tears away. She put on her falsely assured mask instead, to help him grieve this horrible thing that had happened to him. She then sat down next to him, discreetly cleared her throat to chase every sign of sob away, and asked in a low voice.

"Hey, kiddo. What are you doing?"

"I'm thinking." He answered in a whisper, and added after a few more seconds, his eyes lost somewhere above her shoulder. "You know, I realized I didn't even have anything of him. Can you imagine? Nothing that could remind me of him. It's like he never existed in the first place. I find it sad."

She bit her lower lip as Killian was settling beside their son, allowing the little boy to come snuggle against him and look for strength in his father's comforting embrace. She thought for a while, desperately searching for a way to make Henry feel better, and an idea finally crossed her mind after a few seconds. Just hoping that it would at least help a bit, she then stated while getting off the couch.

"Wait here for a second."

She didn't give him the time to ask her any question, and quickly walked to her room, her idea becoming clearer and clearer in her mind. Because of the babies' weight and the shock of the spell still exhausting her, she was already panting when she reached the wooden chest that was placed in a corner of her chamber. That was where Killian and her had put away all the things that they weren't using anymore ever since they'd come to the castle, and she couldn't quite remember the last time she'd opened it, but she knew exactly what she was looking for.

She carefully knelt on the floor, listening to the healer's advice and not doing too much to try and keep safe. Once on the ground, she started searching inside the box for what she wanted and it took a while for her to locate it, so much that there was a second of terror during which she wondered if she still had this thing, or if she'd lost it after all. It'd been some years since she'd last seen it, but she ended up finding the object of her desire, and her heart tightened in her chest. She held the small, damaged box she'd got out of the chest in the palm of her hand, looking at it for a while.

It was containing everything she had left from her broken childhood.

Aside from the bracelet Judy had given her before her death and that had never left Killian's wrist ever since she'd given it to him, as well as her baby blanket that was now placed in the living room, symbol of her family being reunited at last, everything that she had owned in her childhood was there. A damaged toy ring that she'd found on the floor when she was ten, and that she'd worn while pretending to be a rich lady. The red headband that wouldn't leave her blond hair at that time. The signed papers of her first job, for which she'd lied about her age and had gotten fired because of it.

And then, beneath this mess, what she'd been looking for. She carefully got the silver necklace out of the box, only thing that Neal had ever offered her and that she'd kept with her ever since. A swan was etched on it, and she could easily remember the moment Henry's birth father had given this to her. He'd stolen it in the marketplace, and had presented it to her as if it'd been the most precious treasure in the world. It'd all happened before she'd gotten pregnant. When she was still so sure that he was in love with her and would never abandon her.

She'd never worn that necklace. It'd been too precious for her at first to risk losing it or getting it stolen by someone. They'd taken it from her, as everything that she owned, when she'd gone to prison. And it would definitely have been very inappropriate to wear something that had been stolen while she was working at the tavern. Yet, she'd kept it for all those years, to remind herself to never trust someone ever again.

She'd forgotten about it and about this promise that she'd made to herself when she'd met Killian. He'd changed everything, he'd made her trust him and trust their future together, and had never let her go. He'd loved her so much she'd learned to love herself with it. They'd raised an amazing little boy together, and were still building this family they'd both always dreamed of. And finally, she realized that she didn't need this necklace anymore. She was refusing for it to be a proof of the anger she'd finally let go of. She wanted it to become a good thing. She wanted for her son to have it, to remember this father he'd barely had the time to know.

She came back to the living room, the necklace in her hand and her heart so full of emotion it felt like it could explode. Henry was still snuggled against Killian, and she settled beside them, sighing slightly as she knew that it was going to be a very powerful moment. Her son got back up to look at her, and she gently took the palm of his hand to place the jewel in it. He stared at her, confused for a second, and she explained very calmly.

"Neal gave this to me when we were kids. It should be yours."

"Mom, are you sure?" He asked, looking at the necklace in surprise and hesitating slightly.

"You deserve to have it, kid. That way, Neal will always be with you, and you'll always have a way to remember him."

Killian looked at her from above their son's shoulder, smiling gently. She couldn't recall ever talking to him about this jewel, but it wasn't surprising, as she'd basically forgotten about it until that day. Her husband could easily guess everything that she'd put in this item though, and he reached for her hand, interlacing their fingers together to give her the comfort she needed so badly.

"Thanks." Henry murmured, closing his fingers around the necklace and holding it tight in the palm of his hand. "It really does mean a lot."

He leaned toward her for a hug, and she kept him against her for a while, stroking his back and just trying to give him everything she could before the hard event they would have to attend. They waited for a while, then Killian sighed and said simply, gently rubbing their son's back to encourage him.

"It's time, lad."

The funeral happened in a kind of gray, sad fog. Emma was feeling like a part of her life was getting completely erased in front of her eyes, and it was feeling strange. She hadn't felt anything than pure indifference for Neal for a while now, but she couldn't deny the fact that she had loved him once upon a time. And if she'd hated him for more than a decade after that, even if she'd found true love with her wonderful husband, she was feeling like a part of her childhood had disappeared with him. It had been a horrible part of her life, but it was still overwhelming to feel everything slipping away like this.

And mostly, Henry's pain was unbearable for her. There wasn't a lot of people at the funeral, since Neal had never been close to anyone before coming to the castle and meeting his son. So the only people that had come were her, Killian, Henry, her parents, and Chiara and Kate who had accompanied them to give their support during these hard times. Her little boy didn't let go of the necklace during the entire ceremony, as if holding onto his birth father one last time before having to let go. Killian wrapped his arm around her waist and held her close, as she was leaning against him, feeling completely exhausted and lost about what to do next.

It wasn't this kind of funeral where everybody was sobbing, the feeling of the pain weighing in the atmosphere. There were a few tears shed in silence, the quiet so huge the air felt hard to breathe. She walked with Henry when he went to throw a pile of soil on the coffin, saying goodbye to this man that had only been his father for a few short months. She felt him tremble next to her and thought that she was going to start screaming, because her baby boy should never have had to know that much pain.

And then they all came back to the castle, walking slowly close together to give each other strength and the weight of the last events seeming to physically bring them down. She wanted to cry, but she was refusing to let go of a single tear in front of her son. He was sad enough as it was, and she didn't want to make it even worse. And so she bottled everything up and held Killian's hand tight in hers, as if to give herself the courage she was lacking to keep on moving one as everything seemed dark.

They all sat down around the dining table for a long while after that. Killian wanted her to go get some rest, looking truly worried about her making too much effort. She knew she'd stayed on her feet for a long time already and should have gone back to bed, but she didn't want to leave her son to deal with his pain. Henry very obviously needed to talk about his birth father, about what they'd shared for the last few months, and she was going to listen to him even if it took the entire night.

And so he spoke about the conversations they'd had, the way Neal would always ask about what he liked to do and his favorite things, to know his birth son a little bit better. She learned that Henry had asked him to talk about his past, but he had refused to do so, too ashamed of what he'd done. He talked about the jokes they'd had and the moments they'd shared, and ended his tale in tears, sobbing so hard it was hard for him to breathe.

"It's not fair! I know that he did bad things, I know that he hurt you, Mom, but… He was ready to change, for me. He wanted to be a better person, and he was becoming what he wanted to be. And now, he's dead and he didn't even have the time to really do everything he wished he could do. And I will never… I will never be able to really know him."

She looked up at the ceiling, the sobs that were arising in her chest choking her and becoming impossible to hold back. Snow took Henry in her arms, gently stroking his hair and whispering comforting words to his ear. Emma felt like she wouldn't be able to hold her tears back for much longer anymore, it was becoming too much and she was about to explode. Wanting to do something so her son wouldn't see her cry in addition to everything, she got up so fast her chair almost fell down, and she said in a strangled voice as everyone was looking at her in confusion.

"I have to… I have to go."

She didn't have the time to find a better excuse, to really try to explain why she was running away like this. She turned away from her family as tears were already streaming down her face and she was absolutely refusing for Henry to see them. She then rushed to the kitchens, knowing that they would probably be empty and she could find a good spot there to cry everything she had been bottling up for so long. She got to the counter, grabbed it so hard her knuckles turned white, and bent under the strength of the pain.

And finally, she could let go as she was convinced that she was completely alone. She was sobbing so hard she could barely breathe anymore. She couldn't understand why the amazing little boy Henry was had to get through such a horrible thing, at such a young age. He didn't deserve that, he deserved happiness and laughter, and certainly not grief. Regina had hurt her family again. She'd touched her son, and she would never forgive the Evil Queen for that.

Soon, she heard steps ringing in her back. She knew that someone was coming, but she didn't have the strength to stop crying and pretend that everything was fine once again. She felt like she would never be able to, like nothing would ever be the same after this. She didn't even turn to see who was coming, because she already knew. Strong arms wrapped around her from behind, keeping her up and holding her close. Lips found her neck to press a small, tender kiss on her skin, and she heard the familiar and comforting voice of her husband whispering to her ear.

"Shh, my love. It's alright. I'm here. You're going to be okay, I promise."

She finally turned to throw her arms around his neck, and hold onto him for dear life. She buried her face in the crook of his neck, as his hand was gently caressing her back. He softly kissed her everywhere he could reach, rocking her against his chest, and he felt so strong she thought that she could collapse completely.

"I love you. I promise we will all be alright." he whispered, even if she knew he was just trying to comfort her, because he had no way of knowing that.

"I will kill her." She then said, in a voice so cold it surprised her herself. "Regina. I will kill her for what she did to Henry."

Those words were so harsh, especially given her past, given how long she'd taken to forgive herself after killing that guard. She'd promised herself to never kill anyone ever again, but she was too mad to even think about it. Killian didn't say anything back, and didn't try to make her change her mind. She could feel how angry he was too that Regina had hurt their little boy. So he simply kept on rocking her against him, until all her sadness was gone to only leave the place to pure rage.

She would punish Regina for what she'd done. She would avenge Henry for everything he'd had to go through. She wouldn't let the Evil Queen hurt anyone else ever again. She didn't know if it was better than sadness, but at least she wasn't feeling empty anymore.

* * *

"Emma?"

"Mm?"

Frowning deeply, she barely heard her husband and therefore only answered him with a vague grunt. She was too busy staring at her almost empty plate to really pay any attention to anything else going on around her. She was just trying to force herself to eat more slowly, but she didn't seem able to do it. She was still hungry – damn it, she seemed to be starving all the time lately – and she was honestly hesitating to fill in her plate one more time. She really would have wanted to, but this option seemed completely unworthy for several reasons.

For one, she was starting to feel really heavy, and it was beginning to actually bother her. She'd always had a bit of a trouble accepting the changes her body was going through even if she loved seeing her little girls growing up in there, but it was nothing compared to how she was feeling now. She was feeling actually huge. Her bump being so obvious to everyone was normal, she knew it, because she was expecting twins after all. But she was truly feeling like she was the size of a small house, and she couldn't help but think that eating so much was only worsening to situation.

These feelings were only trying to hide what was really going on though, because the situation was way worse than that. Neal's funeral had happened ten days earlier, and Henry still hadn't smiled once ever since. He was sad all the time, and even his family couldn't manage to make him laugh or want to get out of his room anymore. His usual good mood seemed so far away now, and she just wanted her little boy to be happy again. He was feeling guilty for what had happened, and she didn't know what to do to help him anymore.

She was anxious, sad, but she was mostly angry. Ever since Neal's death, the only thing she was thinking about was killing Regina, to avenge Henry for all the pain he was forced to go through. She just wanted to get rid of her for good, so she would never be able to hurt anyone ever again. This plan of seeing her disappear was haunting her day and night, stealing her sleep away. She just wanted it to be over.

And yet, the witch was hiding and no one could manage to figure out where she was. She was probably aware of how mad Emma was, and she knew what she could do with her powers when she was in a rage, so she had run away to a place they knew nothing about. This anger seemed to be eating away all her energy, and she really didn't know what to do wit herself anymore.

And she was feeling so guilty for eating so much, with everything that was happening. Neal was dead, Henry was grieving, and in a way, continuing a normal life didn't seem fair at all. But she just couldn't help herself. The twins were giving furious kicks every time she was trying to fight against her cravings, what was telling her that they were definitely as stubborn as their parents already. She was also scared to hurt them by refusing to eat, but she was just feeling so bad she didn't know how she could get through this.

"Are you alright love?" Killian asked, obviously noticing that something was wrong.

"I'm still hungry." She mumbled, simply shrugging at that.

"Isn't that a good thing?" He replied, not understanding her reaction. "The twins need you to be strong, you have to eat, darling."

"No, you don't get it." She shook her head. "I can't."

He tilted his head in question, leaning forward on his chair to be able to get closer to her and place his hand on her bump. He seemed so confused by her words, and she could see that her feelings didn't seem clear to him at all. He frowned, seemed to think for a while, then he finally said in a very gentle voice.

"Well, you're growing our girls, lass. You need to eat for three, you know?"

"I'm already huge." She closed her eyes in frustration. "I just can't keep on doing this. I swear, I'm turning crazy."

"Emma..." He tried to protest, looking more and more concerned now that he was seeing she was being very serious, but she cut him off with a stern movement of her hand.

"No, please don't! Don't try to tell me that I'm beautiful, or one of those compliments you apparently like to give me so much. I'm not blind, you know. I'm a beached whale, literally. And I'm not even at the end of the pregnancy yet. I'm going to explode before giving birth to these kids. How can you even still want to approach me while I'm looking like this?"

All her anger about everything that was going on in her life was showing in her words now. She was so happy that Henry wasn't sitting with them at the dining table and was in his room instead, because he didn't need to witness this in addition to everything he was already going through. But she was just feeling so bad about everything that was going on, she simply couldn't help herself anymore.

Killian seemed truly worried by her harsh words. He was well aware that she wasn't feeling that comfortable in her own skin lately, but it was the first time that she really was saying things like that, and that she was refusing for him to comfort her. He stared right into her eyes, looking to see what was truly wrong for her to act that way, and he then said in a genuinely saddened tone.

"Oh, my love… If only you could see yourself the way that I'm seeing you. You're absolutely gorgeous, darling, and I'm not saying this to try to make you feel better. It's true. Your body is changing, aye, but it's because you're carrying our children, our two little angels. There's nothing in the entire world I could find more stunning than the woman I love growing my two little princesses, and being so brave about it."

His hand went up to tangled up with her hair, and she felt a shiver of comfort running up her spine. He was so close to her now, so close that if she moved an inch, she could press her forehead against his and just stay like this until everything finally felt right in the world again. She could feel how fast he was breathing, the sincerity obvious in his words. It made her feel so much better at once she didn't even know what to reply. He continued, still in such a soft voice it made her want to cry at how grateful she was to have him in her life.

"I think you're absolutely incredible. You're going through so much, and I just want to thank you for everything you're doing. Whatever you wish for, whatever you need, I'll get it for you, I promise. I would go to the end of the world for you, you know? I love you so, so much."

"We love you too." She sighed, feeling one of the twins kicking, as if to tell her that she was right.

She was already feeling so much better, marveling at the way his words were making the storm in her heart calm down at last. She finally leaned to reach for his lips and press a quick peck on it, and he smiled against her mouth, a gentle, relieved grin at knowing that she was starting to feel okay, now. He finally pulled away to look into her eyes, and as always perceptive, he asked.

"That's not it, right? Something else is going on, I can see it."

"I just wish this war with Regina would finally end." She then admitted, saying out loud what she'd been carrying inside for so long at last. "But she's hiding like a coward, because she knows exactly what I'm capable of if we ever see each other again."

"Emma… I know that you're angry, and you have all the reasons to be. Bloody hell, I am too, but..." He hesitated, his eyes suddenly expressing fear. "You can't enter this fight now, you know that, aye? You just can't. You're pregnant, and the babies cannot get hurt. And you need to rest, after what has happened last time. I… I never want to feel like I'm losing you again. When I saw you laying on the floor and I had to carry you in my arms to the castle while you were passed out without even knowing if you were ever going to wake up… My entire world crumbled. You're my world, Emma, and I just can't lose you."

His eyes were shining with tears, so much that she wanted to start yelling at the pain she could read in them. She didn't want to tell him that she wanted to go after Regina no matter what, not now, not while he was looking like that. She knew that he was right deep down, but she was way too mad to let the Evil Queen get away this time. If she had the opportunity to, she would kill the witch. Pregnant or not.

But her job right now was to comfort her husband, because she could understand what he was feeling. She remembered perfectly well the moment she'd found him laying in the clearing, all those months before, his heart in the Dark One's hand. She juts didn't want him to suffer, and she then said in a low voice, just wanted to soothe his fears.

"You won't lose me, sweetie."

And then, to avoid him saying anything else so she wouldn't start crying for good, she leaned and kissed him senseless on the spot, to convince him that she really wasn't planning on going anywhere.

* * *

It had been weeks now since the last attack, and the guards were still endlessly looking for Regina. They'd been in every corner of the Enchanted Forest, in the lost places and the crowded ones, hoping to find where the hell she was hiding. But no one could figure out her plan, and their tries had only ended in failures that would leave all of them frustrated and hopeless. Nothing was happening, the situation was staying the exact same, and the Evil Queen could come and attack them again at any time. She could hurt loved ones in the span of a second, and Emma couldn't even think about it. She could harm her or Killian, leave Henry to be an orphan. She could kill her girls before they even had a chance to live. And she was absolutely refusing for such a thing to happen.

And yet, she didn't have a choice but to wait. She was feeling absolutely useless. Time was passing and Regina seemed to have disappeared, but they were all well aware that it wasn't the case and that she would come back when they would least expect it. Emma's nights were haunted by images of her return, and by the wish of her lifeless body falling at her feet. She just wanted to ease Henry's pain. Her nightmares were violent and bloody, and her anger was stronger that her common sense. And everything seemed even stronger with the pregnancy, as she didn't know what to do to make things better anymore.

She was feeling like the time was stretching, as her pregnancy was getting harder and harder to bear. She couldn't wait for it to be over now, she just wanted to meet her girls and hold them in her arms. Feeling them moving inside of her was absolutely magical, but she was feeling like it would be so much easier to protect everyone when they would finally be there, because she would actually be able to do something about this insane situation. "Only a few weeks left, my love." Killian would tell her when she would feel like she couldn't do it anymore. "We'll meet them very soon."

And then, the situation shifted at last as a month had passed since Neal had died. These few weeks had been some of the longest of her entire life, witnessing her son continuing to be so sad, and devoured by her desire to see Regina burn. Everything that had seemed blocked until then finally started to move again, but it happened so fast no one really knew how to handle it. But they were finally moving forward. Something was happening at last.

The morning had been a perfectly normal one. She woke up, exhausted as always by the nightmares that didn't want to leave her alone. The girls had been particularly agitated as well, and she had barely slept at all. Killian was looking at her in worry, his hand resting on her bump and trying to read into her eyes if she really was okay or just pretending.

"The twins seem to be giving you a hard time, love." he said with a little sorry sigh.

"They're little monsters." She answered with a very small smile. "The lullaby you sang them really helped last night, though." She added. "And I like feeling them move. It proves that they are doing fine in there. I think we should get used to sleepless nights, anyway. We're going to have a lot of them with two babies in the house."

It made his smile widen a little bit. Despite everything that was going wrong, her pregnancy was sometimes giving them these little moments of happiness and innocence through the dark. The thought that he was about to have two little sisters was also helping Henry to feel better and find the strength to move forward. He could see a happy, safe future thanks to them, and Emma had to admit that even if things were hard sometimes, not everything was hopeless after all. She just had to remember that.

And so they got out of bed and got ready, as every morning, trying to pretend that everything was fine. As always, they went to knock on Henry's door to gently wake him up and tell him to join them in the living room to have breakfast. And they were finishing their meal in the kitchen when their apartment door slammed open

The noise made them all startle so hard, Emma thought her heart was stopping for a second. She only realized then that during all this time, she'd never stopped being ready for a fight. She was on her feet, one hand on her dagger before she'd even had the time to see that Chiara was actually the one standing there. It calmed her down, but she could see at her friend's expression, at her eyes widened in fear and surprise, that something really important was happening.

"Chiara?" She asked, suddenly worried."

"In the common room." Her friend panted, obviously unable to form a real sentence. "You need to come. Now."

They were all out in the hallway in less than a second, intrigued and suddenly vaguely scared. Despite her obvious exhaustion, Chiara was almost running to the main part of the castle. Emma was trying to follow the rhythm, and she asked, herself panting a little bit.

"What's happening? Chiara, what's wrong?" She insisted as Killian was throwing a concerned glance at her, obviously worried to see her making so much effort.

"The Dark One." The young cook then said. "He's here."

* * *

They told Henry to stay inside the library while they were going to see what was truly going on. He protested, but there was no way she would have left Rumpelstiltskin come any close to her boy, not after everything that had happened the last time they'd seen him. She couldn't understand a thing about what was happening, but Chiara just couldn't say what was really going on, because she herself didn't know much more. The only thing that the wizard had said was that he wanted to talk to them. And it was making her really anxious.

Killian was so tense beside her she was actually a bit worried about him. The idea of seeing the Dark One, the one who had stolen his first love and who had taken his heart in order to kill him, seemed to be making him really nervous. She took his hand and met his gaze, wanting to comfort him despite her own fear. And then they crossed the door side by side, ready to face whatever was going to happen in there.

The common room was absolutely crowded, and yet the space was filled in with a complete, oppressive silence that was making the air hard to breathe. Her parents immediately came to meet her when they saw them coming in, as if trying to warn them about the situation. And that's when she saw him, the Dark One, leaning against a wall, his hands up in the air as he was threatened by dozens of guards and fairies. Emma was well aware that he could have killed all of them with a flick of his hand. And yet, she knew that he would do nothing of the sort.

Because he was nothing like the man she'd seen a month earlier. He was looking ten times older, his eyes not shining with the same cruel light it had before, as if something had died in him. For a second of confusion, Emma actually wondered if he was sick, but she quickly understood what was really going on there.

He was Neal's father, of course. She had needed a second to remember this fact, because she'd never been used to seeing her ex-lover as the Dark One's son. But he was mourning, just like her boy was. He looked up at them when he heard them coming in, and he stated in a slow, emotionless voice that made her shiver.

"Don't worry, Savior. I'm going to let you lock me up in the dungeon. I have nothing left to fight for. Before that, I however want to offer my help."

"Your help?" Emma repeated, completely taken aback by this statement, and a bit mad if she was being honest. "Are you kidding me? Is this another one of your sick tricks? You're Regina's ally. You tried to kill my husband, and you've hurt him before. Why should I believe you when you say that you want to help?"

Killian held her hand a little bit tighter, as if to soother her. The rage was running through her veins, now that the surprise was gone. How dared he come back there to this castle after everything he had done? Regina was their biggest enemy, but he'd hurt her family so much as well. She would have killed him too, if she'd listened to her darkest desires.

And yet, she knew that she just couldn't do that. She saw the wizard meeting her gaze to offer her the saddest smile she'd ever seen in her entire life. It was the smile of a father who'd just a lost a child, and despite everything he'd done, she felt sorry for him. He started to talk again then, as if she hadn't just threatened him.

"After Bae died… My memories are blurry. I tried to kill Regina without managing to. I just needed to avenge my son's death. I failed, and I spent weeks trying to find her after she ran away. But she placed protection spells around the place she's found to hide, just for me not to enter. And I don't feel strong enough to break them. Not anymore."

"Wait a minute." Killian said coldly. "Are you actually betraying her?"

"She killed my son!" The Dark One suddenly seemed in a complete rage. "Should I thank her for it? Should I still care about her at all? I want her dead as much as you do."

"A son who spent years trying to run away from you!" Killian growled, and Emma turned toward him, just trying to comfort his anger.

Turning the Dark One against them was certainly not going to help them. He was there for a reason, a real one, and something inside of her was telling that he wasn't lying, and that this wasn't a trick. He just seemed so tired. He wasn't there to help Regina anymore. He was there as a mourning father, who would have done anything to soothe this pain that was burning inside of him.

Killian seemed to relax under her gaze and he looked down, taking some deep breaths to calm his rage down. She gently pressed his fingers between her own, to show him that it was alright to be mad, and that he didn't have to feel guilty about it. This man had hurt him so much, he had every right to be angry. She started to talk again then, as everyone around her was holding their breath, expecting a fight to explode between them.

"Why are you here?"

"Because if I failed to get into her hiding place, I know that you can. She cast her spells for me, knowing that I would find her eventually, but she's not expecting you to come to her. You could do it. You could finally catch her and make her pay."

Emma blinked several times, too surprised to answer right away. After weeks spent at trying to find a way to get to the Evil Queen, she was actually offered a chance to go kill her worst enemy. She had the opportunity to avenge her son and everyone she'd hurt. Killian started to talk again, looking more and more confused about all of this.

"Are you actually saying that you want to kill Regina?"

"She took Bae from me." He said in such a shaky voice Emma thought he was going to start crying. "He was the only one I had, the only one worth fighting for. I have nothing else to lose. And you have everything to win."

"What makes you say that someone here is strong enough to break Regina's spell?" David then asked, finally starting to talk as the surprise was slowly fading away. "Even if you're weaker now, you're still more powerful than all of us here."

"You're wrong." He said in a deep, broken voice, turning toward Emma and making a shiver run up her spine. "The Savior's magic is stronger than anything else in the world. Emma Swan is the only one able to break the protections spells. Emma Swan is the only one able to kill the Evil Queen."


	45. Chapter 45

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm so sorry it took me so long to update this chapter. My personal life took over and I didn't have much time to write. I didn't want to write this chapter too fast and for it not to be the way I wanted it to, because there's a fair share of angst in it and I wanted to make sure that everything was the way I wished them to be. I hope you'll like it!

They all stayed quiet for a very long time after this unexpected revelation, so much that the silence was almost deafening and that Emma started to wonder if one of them would finally start talking, or if they would just stay like this forever. They were all trying to process the information they had just received, not knowing if believing the Dark One was a wise thing to do, or if they should just ignore what had just happened completely.

Her. It had always been her, the one destined to defeat Regina for good. And she was the only one able to make her get out of her hiding spot, and finally stop her from causing any more harm. It was her opportunity to avenge Henry's pain, and everyone else the witch had ever hurt. It was her chance to finally use these powers that had been given to her. She would be able to save the kingdom from this hell of a woman. Finally.

"Wait a minute." Killian then said, his jaw clenched in anger and obviously worried out of his mind about what was going to happen now. "There is no way Emma is going to run right into danger like that! She's bloody pregnant!"

He had approached her as he was talking, almost unconsciously as if to protect her from this insane situation. He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close into his strong embrace. Her heart was beating so fast, she felt like it was going to explode if she wasn't able to calm down very soon.

She knew that Killian was truly right about what he'd said. She just couldn't go and attack the witch while being pregnant, almost about to give birth. It was basically suicide. And her powers were unpredictable with the pregnancy. Staying inside the castle was the reasonable thing to do, and yet there was this little voice at the back of her head, still yelling at her that she had to protect everyone.

David was the one who started to talk then, frowning and looking like he had no idea of how to react and choose the best thing to do. "If Emma is the only one powerful enough to defeat Regina, we at least have to wait for her to have given birth before trying anything. She needs to rest, she can't just enter a war like that, it's dangerous for her and the babies. Even thinking about that is completely insane."

"When are you due? A couple of months, right?" The Dark One asked, staring at her bump and making her shiver uncomfortably, because she was feeling like he could read into her soul and she didn't like that feeling one bit. "We don't have that much time. Regina will be out by then, she will be confident enough again to try and attack everyone one more time. It's obvious that she won't stay hidden indefinitely, and I'm pretty certain she's planning on using your pregnancy to attack you, while you cannot defend yourself. Especially when she'll learn that I'm locked in the dungeon, she'll feel like she has nothing to fear. We need to attack now, as soon as possible, while she isn't expecting us to."

"I can't control my powers." Emma then said, as Killian was holding her just a little bit tighter. "Not right now, the pregnancy is making me unable to do what I really want. How could I possibly defeat her like that?"

"Figure it out." He said almost aggressively, shrugging. "You're the Savior, it's your job. All I know is that we need to be quick, or she will take the advantage again and she will win this time. Who knows what could happen to this kingdom if you don't do anything while you have the opportunity to."

She turned toward her husband to exchange a long look with him. She could read in his eyes that he knew exactly what was going through her mind on that moment, and he slowly shook his head, silently begging her to stop this, to stay safe. He didn't want her to even think about this possibility, but she felt like she didn't really have a choice. She just had to protect everyone.

Because she knew that if Killian was right, the Dark One was too in some way. This was their only chance to defeat the Evil Queen, to live happily ever after without having to worry about anything else anymore. She just wanted her girls to be born in a world where they could be safe, she wanted her little boy to stop being scared and just be the kid he was meant to be. She just wanted to stop being afraid, to start living a normal life, because she wasn't sure that she could keep on doing this for much longer without turning completely insane.

If they waited for Regina to come back after what had happened last time, if they waited for her to be ready for a fight again, something really bad was going to happen, she could feel it in her bones. She would attack again, twice as hard as before, having taken advantage if her time away from them. She would use her two babies against her, threatened her children, and she just couldn't let that happen. She was going to hurt those she loved again. And there had to be a way for her to defeat the witch without getting in danger. She just had to do this, it felt like the right thing to do.

And on that exact moment, she finally decided to defeat her enemy, whatever it took, so her family could finally live the happy life they all deserved.

Before she even had the time to fully process what was happening, Rumpelstiltskin was brought into a cell in the basement of the castle, one he couldn't possibly escape from, so they could be left alone to discuss what they wanted to do next. After looking at each other in silence for a while, they decided to go back to the library, where Henry was still waiting for them, to be in a quiet and safe environment to talk about how they wanted to deal with this.

Her son was sitting on one of the couches, nervously chewing on his nails, looking like not knowing what the hell was happening down there was driving him crazy. He jumped on his feet as soon as he heard them approaching, and immediately asked what was going and if they were alright. Killian didn't give her the time to answer any of their little boy's questions, though. In a cold, deep voice, he asked.

"I hope you're not thinking about going there."

He was standing in front of her now, his eyes darkened by the anger, but mostly by the fear as he was obviously terrified of what could happen to her. She took a second before talking, knowing exactly how he was feeling and understanding his reaction completely. He was afraid of losing someone he loved once again after everything he'd already been through in his life.

But if they didn't act now, the babies would be in even more danger, she could feel it in her guts. The little kick one of the girls gave her told her that she was right. All she ever wanted was to protect those she loved, and entering the fight seemed like the right decision for her right now.

"Do I have a choice?" She then asked, shrugging in helplessness. "I don't see what else I could do."

"Emma!" He cried out, taking a step toward her and looking completely outraged by her words. "There's no way you're ever going to approach this witch again while being pregnant. I almost lost you last time. I won't risk this happening ever again!"

"Killian." She answered, trying to keep calm so she could soothe his fears, but his anger was truly touching her and she was panting a little bit. She was feeling like they didn't have any time to waste, she just needed to get this over with so they could finally start living again. "You heard what the Dark One said. If we wait, Regina will attack, and she will win this time. She will hurt our family, I can feel it, and I have to protect our children. I just have to keep everyone safe."

"And you truly think that running into danger is going to help? Someone can do this for you, you're not alone, and you just can't do this! Not now!"

"Rumpelstiltskin said that I was the only one able to defeat her." She objected, almost sadly. "I can't let this opportunity of finally catching her pass. I have to protect everyone. Can't you see that?"

"Calm down, both of you." David then said, feeling like a fight was coming and just wanting to make sure that everything stayed calm, because the situation was already complicated enough as it was. "We're going to find a solution, we just have to think about it first."

"A solution that will stop my wife and my children from getting hurt?" Killian then shouted, turning away from Emma as if looking at her was unbearable on the moment.

"Wait a minute." Henry then asked, looking completely confused. "What's happening? Why are you all screaming?"

His question met a heavy silence, that made the air hard to breathe in the room. Their son was staring at the both of them, looking more and more worried, already knowing that something important was happening. Emma tried to meet Killian's eyes, but he was purposely refusing to look at her. He seemed about to explode, and tears filled in her eyes at this sight. She really just wanted to protect all of them, because she loved them more than anything else in the world. All she wanted was to kill Regina, to avenge Henry and so they could all be safe. She just didn't want her husband to hate her because of that. She wasn't sure she would have been able to stand this possibility.

Snow was staring at her now, frowning as if she were trying to find a way to make everything better. After another moment of silence, she finally moved to place her hands on Henry's shoulders, and she started to talk in a calm, soothing voice. She explained what was happening in details, trying to sound as reassuring as she possibly could. She talked about the Dark One's offer, and the fact they were trying to find the best way to deal with the situation. And when she was done, a few moments later, Henry turned back to Emma, his eyes widened in fear, and asked in a low voice.

"And you're actually thinking about going?"

"I'm the only one who can keep all of you safe." She whimpered, feeling his distress and hating the fact she was the cause for it. "I just want to help you, kid."

"And you truly think you're helping me by acting that way?" He almost choked, tears in his eyes now as he was looking at her with a mix of anger and terror. "The only way you can help me is by staying safe! I already lost a dad, I refuse to lose my mom too!"

"You won't lose me, Henry!" She immediately protested, taking a step toward him to cup his cheek and look into his eyes. "I won't let that happen, I promise."

"You said that last time!" He shook his head, one lonely tear rolling down the side of his face. "And you almost died anyway. I almost lost you and my sisters, in addition to losing Neal. I never want that to happen ever again, you hear me?"

She wrapped both her arms around him as tears were silently covering his cheeks now, and he let go of a husky sob that broke her heart. He was completely terrified, but she didn't have a choice and she just wanted him to see that too. She was just doing this for the people she loved, so she could protect them. She dropped a kiss to the top of his head, just trying not to start crying with him. In a very low voice, she then said.

"Henry, I'm so sorry that you're afraid because of me. But I'm the Savior, I was born to do this. I have to help the kingdom, you know? And most of all, I have to protect all of you, because you're the most important things in my life and I refuse to let anything happen to you."

"I wish you could protect yourself instead." He sobbed against her.

"I promise you I won't leave you, kid, never. You're going to have to bear with me for a long time, I promise. You won't lose me. I won't let that happen."

She turned to Killian then, as he was looking at the both of them, his jaw clenched in anger. Her words hadn't seemed to calm him down at all. He was looking like he didn't know if he should be angry or scared, but when she tried to meet his gaze again, he turned away from her. Seeing him pulling away like that made her feel like she had just gotten kicked in the stomach. She forced herself to not start sobbing, and she kept on comforting Henry until he had stopped crying completely, murmuring comforting words to his ears.

When he'd finally calmed down, quiet filled in the room for a long, endless minute. She very slowly pulled away from her son to wipe the tears from his face, and tenderly kissed his forehead once again. Snow was the first one who started to talk again, and she asked in a somewhat broken voice.

"Emma, are you absolutely sure you want to do this? It's dangerous, honey. Killian is right. You're the Savior, but you're pregnant. You need to protect yourself first."

"But the only way to protect everyone, including the twins, is to make sure that Regina can't hurt anyone ever again." Emma stated, staring at Killian as if he were the one she was trying to convince. "If I don't do anything and they arrive in a world Regina is still in… I know she will try to attack and hurt them, I can feel it. She knows the best way to hurt me is to harm my children and the people I love. Pushing back the moment we finally defeat her is only going to create another death, I can tell and I don't want to let that happen. Not again"

'What you are saying makes sense." David said in a soft voice that actually managed to soothe the storm that was raging in the pit of her stomach. "But you can't walk into danger like that. You're the one she wants to hurt, Emma, and she's going to do everything she can to attack you first. We can find another solution together. Are you sure you are the only one who can break the protection spells she's put around her place?"

"I'm the Savior." She then repeated in a low voice, almost angry now because she was feeling like this was the reason for all her problems and she'd never anted that in the first place. "I'm the only one able to finally catch her."

"And this bloody prophecy forces you to die to kill a witch?" Killian then spat out, so violently she almost startled.

She approached him to take him in her arms, to reassure him and prove him that he wasn't going to lose her, but he took two steps back and it broke her heart in half. It was as if he just couldn't be near her right now, because his anger was stronger than anything else. It made her want to cry. But instead, she let go of a little shaky sigh and replied in a deep, somewhat broken voice.

"I'm not going to die, Killian. I promise I won't. I want our children to be safe as much as you do, and that's why I'm doing this. We can arrange something to make sure that I'm not really in danger, we will find a way, I promise. I could break the spells and let the guards go inside to catch Regina while she least expects it. She will be taken by surprise, and I won't risk a thing."

'The fairies could protect you, too." Her mother added, nodding as she was well aware that Emma wasn't going to change her mind about this. "They could place protection spells all around you, so Regina can't reach you."

"Great. Bloody amazing. That's all you found to protect my family. Fairies. I feel so much better."

"Don't do that." Emma whimpered, trying to approach him once again, but he walked away once more. "I'll be safe."

"I thought you couldn't use your powers during the pregnancy, anyway." he said, looking at her coldly but as if trying to find one last excuse to keep her by his side. "The twins stop your powers from working as you would wish them to. That's what you told me."

"I'll start taking classes again." She decided, trying to sound as convincing as possible so he would finally believe her. "I will ask for help. I will train until I'm sure I can defeat her, for good. I know she will attack me when the girls will be born, if we don't do anything now, so she can hurt all of us together. We have two months left before that happens, and I will have taken control over my powers again by that time. I won't risk anything." She added, trying to convince her husband at last, as he had his hand clenched in a fist as if he were about to punch a wall. "I won't let her attack our family again."

She only read anger and helplessness in his eyes after she'd stopped talking. He was looking like he was holding his screams back, so he wouldn't completely explode. Seeing him like that because of her was almost unbearable. She then turned to her son to take him against her again, trying to reassure him as her comforting words had seemed to actually work for him. She knew her parents were worried too, but they were also well aware that her plan was the best solution, and she just wished Killian could see that as well.

Her husband would just have to accept the fact they didn't have a choice. She was getting his fear, she really was, because he couldn't help her and it was driving him crazy. She knew how frustrated he was to be unable to stop her from doing this, too. But she was certain that they would have to act fast, because she had to protect her family. It was all she had, and she was going to keep them safe and finally defeat this woman that had hurt them so much already.

* * *

The plan they'd all been dreaming of for weeks now, the one that was going to allow them to defeat their oldest enemy, was finally slowly building. They would sit at the same long table her parents had used to try and find a way to avoid the Dark Curse, and they would talk and talk for hours, trying to find the best way to do this so it wouldn't fail once again. They were also trying to find the right solution for her not to be put in danger, of course, because she couldn't risk hurting the babies. She had to keep her children safe above all, and she was really trying her best to find the right way to do this.

And finally, something came up, something that finally seemed good enough for them not to be put in too much danger in the process. She would go to the place Regina was using as her hiding spot, surrounded by guards and fairies ready to protect her no matter what. And while she was sure that these people would keep her safe, she would be able to focus on breaking the protection spells that were keeping her away from getting what she wanted : defeat the witch once and for all.

With a bit of luck and a lot of efforts, they would be able to do this discreetly, and the guards would come in and take the Evil Queen by surprise before she could do anything to stop them and defend herself. Emma still wanted to kill her, she hadn't changed her mind about that, but her parents had insisted for their enemy to go through a real trial, because they wanted to be fair and not get down to her level. It wasn't pleasing her, but the most important was that Regina couldn't hurt anyone else again. She could work on getting rid of her for good after.

She'd started her magic classes with the Blue Fairy again, to be sure that she was ready to use her powers when the time would come. But things were even harder than expected, and she would sometimes wonder if she really could do this after all. She would try to break protection spells her friend would cast around the room over and over again, but the babies were stopping her from using her magic the way she would have wanted to. She knew deep down that Regina's spells would be a thousand times more powerful than the fairy's, and she was trying not to lose hope. She just had to get ready, she wasn't going to give up. She was going to train until she was sure she could do this, she just had to remember she really could overcome anything if she wanted to.

Henry had ended up accepting the plan they had built together, knowing that he wouldn't be able to change their mind. He was still worried out of his mind and would sometimes come to take her in his arms without notice, as if he were scared that she was going to disappear, but he was also well aware that this was the best possible solution they could find. He would come with her to watch her classes, encouraging her and allowing her to find the strength she needed when she was feeling like she just couldn't do this. She was doing all of this for him and the rest of her family, and she would have done anything for them to be happy.

But if Henry had accepted their fate, it was unfortunately not Killian's case. One week had passed since the Dark One had come to explain the situation to them and, during all this time, he'd barely talked to her at all. The few words he'd pronounced had been cold and distant, and she was feeling like he was slipping through her fingers and she couldn't do anything to keep him by her side. He would fall asleep, his back to her at night, and it would break her heart every single time. Still, she would sometimes wake up with his arms wrapped around her as he'd moved in his sleep, as if he were trying to keep her and the babies safe.

He was mad at her for running straight into danger like that, thinking that she was ignoring all the consequences while she was only doing that to protect everyone. He was angry at her parents and friends for agreeing with her on this decision she'd made. He was the only one refusing to see that they didn't have a choice at all, and his silence was telling so much more than any words could ever have. He was just trying not to explode, because he knew that it would have been useless as he would never have been able to make her change her mind. Stubborn as she was, she wasn't going to give up, certainly not now.

And yet, he ended up exploding anyway, as everything had finally become too much for him to bear.

She was the one who managed to finally push him to talk to her. His silence and coldness was driving her crazy, pushing her on edge while she needed to focus on her plan more than anything else. She knew that he loved her, and that this situation wasn't going to change his feelings for her, but she really needed him more than ever right now. Because, behind the shield of false assurance she was building, she was actually terrified.

She wasn't stupid, she knew exactly what she was risking by entering the war like that. And she needed to protect her children at the same time, no matter what, and she was so scared to be unable to do that. She just wanted to yell at all this stress that was weighing on her shoulders sometimes. And this constant reminder that her own husband didn't even want to talk to her anymore wasn't making things any easier.

And so, one night, everything she'd been bottling up until then finally got out at once. She was feeling like she couldn't handle this situation anymore. She was exhausted, stressed, and the heavy silence that had accompanied them at dinner had made her want to throw her plate against the wall. On top of everything, she'd started to have a fever and, even though she hadn't told Killian about it because she didn't want to worry him even more, this sudden sickness was stopping her from thinking clearly about what she was doing.

She was sitting on their bed, her hands resting on her bump and trying to curb the pain the fever was creating under her skull. She was watching Killian as he was taking off his day clothes to get changed for the night. Her teeth were clashing in her mouth as she was getting angrier and angrier at his behavior, so much that her stomach was starting to hurt. And finally, not managing to stop herself, she asked coldly.

"Are you planning on ignoring me forever?"

He turned toward her, obviously surprised to hear her talk to him. Henry was already asleep in his room, and she forced herself to take some deep breaths and remind herself that she couldn't start screaming so she wouldn't risk waking him up. She saw her husband frowning, as he was looking more frustrated than ever. She sighed at the absence of reply and continued, more and more annoyed.

"I know that you're mad, but I don't think I deserve this. I'm just trying to protect all of you, you know, I'm not doing this because I want to. Do you think all this stress is easy for me to bear? Do you think I like this situation one bit?"

He didn't answer and turned his back to her again, shrugging vaguely as if he'd barely paid any attention to her as she was talking. She just wanted to make him react now, she wanted him to stop ignoring her, even if it was ending in him yelling because of all the rage he was keeping inside. They needed to tell all those things that were going on in their heads out loud, or the situation would keep on getting worse and this just couldn't happen. She just couldn't stand this anymore.

"You're being so childish." She spat out almost meanly. "Don't you think we should actually talk about this, like the adults we're supposed to be? We're not eight anymore."

He didn't even move to acknowledge the fact she'd talked, as if he hadn't even heard her. Still not looking at her, he walked to the bathroom, that he'd just left a minute earlier, as it was quite obvious that he wanted to escape this conversation. She knew he was going to lock himself inside to try to calm down, but she wasn't going to let him run away once again. They needed to talk about this, because this just couldn't go on that way.

"Talk to me, Killian, damn it!"

"What do you want me to say?" He then replied, turning toward her and finally looking into her eyes, his own darkened by the anger and the fear. "You won't listen to me anyway, as always."

"But I don't have a choice!" She answered, relieved that he was finally answering her, but the rage she could read in his eyes was making her want to cry. "I just can't risk losing any of you. I have to do something!"

"And have you thought about me at all, Swan?" He exploded then, taking three steps toward her, as if hoping to make her see his point at last. "Have you thought about the fact I could lose you and the girls any minute, because of this bloody situation? All I want is to protect you all, because I love you more than anything!"

"Funny way to show this by ignoring me" She growled in anger. "I feel anything but loved and supported right now."

"I love you and you know that, but I'm not supporting you in this stupid decision you're taking! And I can't do anything to change your mind because you're so bloody stubborn, and you won't listen to me at all! It's driving me insane, Emma! If I lose any of you, I will never be able to get over it, do you understand me?"

"But if I don't do anything, we will lose someone sooner or later!" She shouted, feeling more and more frustrated by this situation and by his behavior, because he just didn't want to understand that she was only doing that for their own good.

"You're impossible!" He yelled back, running his hand over his face as if to try and calm himself down. "You always do whatever the bloody hell you want without thinking about the consequences."

"I'm just trying to avoid any of you getting hurt!" She defended herself, feeling deeply hurt by his harsh words. "You promised me you would always support me the day we got married, why are you breaking your promise now that I need you more than ever?"

"I didn't promise to always agree with you, especially not when you're making these kind of stupid decisions!"

"You actually think that I'm stupid?" She asked in a low voice then, the rage threatening to get out completely as she was feeling like she could explode.

"I don't think you are stupid, and you know that. But I think your decision is. You want to go see this woman who's been trying to kill you for months while being pregnant, almost about to give birth. This is basically suicide, all of this because you think you can save everybody! You actually believe that you have a mission, that this is your destiny or something, and that is what I find anything but clever. I'm so disappointed I don't even know what to say."

She startled at his words, looking up at him and trying to convince herself that he didn't mean a word of what he was saying, but the anger she could read in his eyes was real. How could he even say those kind of things to her? She just wanted to protect him and everyone she loved. Did he really think that she was an idiot for acting that way? Barely a few days before, she'd been so sure he was finding her perfect in every way, and now this was happening and she wasn't sure of what to do. Rage was building in the pit of her stomach, and she yelled back at him.

"How dare you say those kind of things? This mission, as you call it, it's to save every single one of you! I'm just trying to..."

"No, Swan!" he cut her off, and the anger disappeared from his face at once to leave place to pure pain, and it was almost worse than anything else. "Don't try to find excuses to explain your behavior. You're walking to your death, you're bringing the girls with you and you are well aware of that. You know deep down how this is going to end. Henry is going to lose his mom, and I'm going to lose my wife and two of my children. I can't believe you can be this selfish. I can't believe you can't see all the pain you are creating."

His words made her want to cry, because she didn't even know how to process them. He'd never talked to her like this before. He was hurting her so much, but he also looked so sad. She didn't know what was hurting her the most, his words or his expression of pure distress. She'd been wrong before, he hated her now for the decision she'd made. He thought that she was a bad wife, a bad mother, a bad person. He thought she was going straight to her death without thinking about him at all, while it was the exact opposite. All she wanted was to protect him. She was only doing this for the people she loved.

"You can't possibly think that you want to protect the kids more than I do. You just can't." She said in a broken voice. "I'm just doing this to keep you and them safe."

"The only way to do that would be to stay here, in safety, and I know that you know that. What you're saying isn't right. You're only making excuses, because this situation is making you feel useful and you actually like it. You want to be the Savior, it makes you feel important. And because of that, you're going to make me lose everything I have."

He didn't give her the time to reply anything then, to tell him that he was so wrong and that she'd never wanted this role as the Savior of the kingdom, that she would have been way happier by just growing old by his side. But this plan was the only solution, and she wanted him to see that. But he turned away from her, and she called him in a strangled voice when she saw him about to walk out the door.

"Killian?"

"I can't stay here."

"Killian!" She repeated, louder this time, but he opened the door and almost ran to get out of the apartment.

She wanted to go after him, but her bump was so big that getting up quickly was almost impossible. She let go of a loud curse, frustrated beyond words, as she was finally managing to get out of bed. When she finally arrived in the living room though, he was already gone. And she had no idea of where he was now.

She needed another minute or so to realize that this was real, because everything felt so crazy she prayed for it to be a nightmare. For months, he'd promised her he would never leave. Ever since the Dark One had stolen his heart and she'd thought that he didn't want her anymore, he'd repeated over and over again that he would never abandon her. But he'd lied. It'd happened, for good this time.

He was gone, because of her, and there was nothing she could do to change that.

His words were still ringing in her ears, destroying her mind and making her want to fall asleep and never wake up to forget all of this. Maybe he wasn't wrong, after all. Maybe she was stupid, because her most important job was to protect her children and she was going straight into danger with them instead of keeping them safe. She was going to hurt them. Because she was always unable to protect those she loved.

One hand resting over her bump, she felt one of the girls giving a little kick. They were living in there, they were growing and they deserved to have a good life. They deserved a mother who would do anything to protect them, who would put them first no matter what. They were more important than anything, even being the Savior. She could finally see that now.

She was crying now, huge husky sobs shaking her shoulders as she didn't know what the hell she could do to feel better. Killian had been right for all this time, and now that she was realizing this at last, he was already gone. If she went after him to tell him that she was sorry, would he still want her at all? Or would he hate her until the end of their lives for even thinking about putting their babies in danger?

He was going to leave her too, like everyone before him. She could see a future in which he was living in another room of the castle, to be as far away from her as he possibly could. He would come and spend time with Henry and the girls without even looking at her. They wouldn't be able to raise their children together like she had dreamed about, because she hadn't seen the truth sooner. He loved their children and would never abandon them, but she'd ruined everything.

She hated herself, and she could understand why he did too.

* * *

She was curled up on herself in her bed, without knowing how much time she'd spent in this position already. Probably hours, or days, she couldn't tell anymore. It was still night outside, but it felt like an eternity since Killian had left. He hadn't come back. He probably wouldn't, at least not for a long time, because she hadn't been good enough for him to stay. She'd been too stupid to keep him by her side. And she seemed unable to stop crying.

She was sobbing for so long her eyes were burning and her throat was hurting. She'd fortunately managed not to wake Henry up with all the noise she'd made, because she wouldn't have stood him seeing her in that awful state. After crying in the living room for a while, she'd managed to go back to her chamber, but she couldn't tell exactly how she'd got to her bed. Everything felt blurry and she'd grabbed one of Killian's shirts, breathing in his comforting smell to try and calm herself down. She hadn't moved for hours, and the fever she'd been running for hours was only getting worse. She just didn't know what to do anymore.

Deep down, she was still hoping that he would come back. She couldn't believe their story was going to end like this, because of some stupid fight. She just wanted to talk to him and tell him that she was going to abandon this plan and they could be happy again. She would stay in the castle until the girls were born, and they wouldn't be put in any danger. Maybe he could forgive her, maybe he was just trying to calm down before coming back to her again. But he was gone and it was her fault, and her thoughts weren't making any sense anymore because of the pain.

Her body was physically aching, and she realized that her fever was probably worse than she'd thought at first, for her to be in such a state of shock. She was feeling like throwing up, and her head was spinning every time she would try to open her eyes. She would probably have fainted if she'd tried to get up on her feet. Her head was so warm it was hurting. And she was just so tired of fighting.

In between her tears, she ended up falling in a feverish sleep from which she would wake up every few minutes. And, completely lost, she would see him coming back sometimes. She would see his figure and his familiar blue eyes staring at her, and he would take her in his arms and tell her that he loved her and that he was sorry for walking away. It would only hurt her more when she would realize that this wasn't real, that her fever was just so high she was hallucinating. She was so scared that he was actually hating her now, and that he would never love her again. That she'd lost this love they'd once shared, while she never wanted it to end.

After another long moment, she heard the apartment door opening in the distance again. She let go of a little desperate whimper, realizing that she was probably having another one of her hallucinations. She buried her face in Killian's shirt, trying to escape her own mind. The twins hadn't moved for a while, as if afraid by her distress. She was scared. The door of her bedroom opened as well, and she let go of another little sob, praying for all of this to be over at last.

Steps ringing on the floor seemed to be approaching her, but she knew this scene way too well by now. She didn't dare to look up to see her husband's face yet another time, only to realize that this wasn't real. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and suddenly she couldn't breathe. Then Killian's voice rang in her ears, distorted, worried and confused.

"Emma?"

"Please, leave me alone." She murmured to the hallucination. "Whoever you are, just leave me. I can't do this anymore."

"Emma, darling, it's me." The familiar voice said again, shaking with concern now. "Swan, please look at me. I'm right here. What are you talking about?"

"I can't!' She said in a louder voice. "Not again!"

She felt cold fingers resting on her forehead, followed by a loud curse that almost made her startle. Her entire body was aching. For the first time, she thought that maybe it was real this time, because the coldness of his hand against her burning head felt way too real to be a dream. She didn't dare to open her eyes only to see him disappear again though, and she heard him say vaguely.

"Bloody hell, you're burning up. I'm going to go get something to help you, alright? Just don't move. I'll be right back. I promise you, my love, you'll be okay."

Cold lips on her burning forehead, a hand briefly running through her tangled hair. Time seemed to stop and her stomach suddenly felt better, as if she couldn't really feel the pain anymore. She was still crying, though. After a minute or a day, she wasn't sure anymore, she felt a cold cloth on her head, and a gentle voice saying to her ear.

"Emma, my love, can you hear me? Bloody hell, please answer me. I'm going to go call for help, alright? I can't leave you in that state."

Finally, the sound of his voice was so familiar she allowed herself to think that maybe this wasn't a dream. Maybe this was really him, and she'd been panicking for nothing because he'd come back after all. She found the strength in herself to open her eyes, to see his face a few inches from her, his eyes shining with tears of fear. It was him, it really was. She could tell, he was real.

"Killian?" She asked in a whimper, blinking a few times to try and see more clearly.

"I'm here, lass, I'm right there..." He answered, relieved to see that she was finally recognizing him after all. "What's wrong? Do you need me to go get help?"

"It's really you." She then whispered without answering his question, getting up at once to wrap her arms around his neck and bury her face in his shoulder.

"Hey… Love, calm down." He said very gently, his fingers playing in her back to try and soother her. "Of course, it's me. What's the matter, darling? How are you feeling? Are you sick, do I need to call a healer?"

"I… I thought you'd left." She stuttered, holding him so tight that, in her feverish mind, she was scared she would actually end up choking him. "I thought you didn't love me anymore and you'd left, and..."

"Swan, why would you ever think that?" He said, holding her a bit tighter and she could hear the pain in his words as he was rocking her against his chest. "It was just a fight, I simply needed to get out and calm down for a bit. We already argued more than once, and you knew I wasn't going to leave you. I don't understand..."

"We fought, but you've never left before!" She countered in a low voice, even if her tears were slowly fading away at his touch. "You weren't coming back and I thought I'd ruined everything"

"Emma, please don't say that. I'm so sorry, my love, I didn't mean what I said and I should never have ignored you like I did. It was wrong of me. But I'm just so scared of losing you, I was turning insane. You're my entire world darling, and I love you more than anything. That's why I'm so afraid of losing you. Nothing will ever change that, I promise."

"I'm the one who's sorry." She murmured then, feeling like she could finally think a bit more clearly again. "You were right. I should never even have thought about going to attack Regina while being pregnant. I'm a bad mom, and I would understand if you hated me because of it…"

"Never, Swan, do you hear me?" He said in a broken voice, as if he were crying, but she just couldn't be sure because of her own tears. "I could never hate you, my love, and you're the best mother there is. Our children are so lucky to have you. I should never have left, I realize it now. I just needed to take a moment to think, but I should have explained myself before going away like that. Gods… Please forgive me, darling. I love you so, so much."

She realized she was already feeling better thanks to his soothing words. Very gently, as if not to break her, he laid her back down on the bed, sill holding her so close she could hear his heartbeats in her own chest. She could tell that he was crying now, and she kissed his temple, wanting to soothe him as much as he wanted her to feel better. He kissed her forehead too, his voice whispering against her skin "My beautiful, perfect lass."

She didn't know when exactly, but she ended up falling asleep. She had feverish dreams she couldn't really remember, but when she woke up the next day, as dawn was rising outside, she realized that her fever was gone. Even better, she was still snuggled in his arms. He hadn't left. It hadn't been a dream, and they were just fine. She would make sure that they would be for the rest of their lives, too.

"Hey." He said gently, putting a loose strand of hair back behind her ear, and she could see at the bags under his eyes that he hadn't slept at all. "Are you feeling better? Maybe I should call someone, to make sure that you're okay, aye?"

She shook her head to show him that she was fine, and buried her face in the crook of his neck once again. She was feeling like crying again, because she was thinking about all the bad decisions she'd made lately, and she'd never wanted to hurt him. She'd almost put the babies in danger because of this role of the Savior she had to carry with her, all of that because she'd been too stubborn to listen to her family's advice that this was a bad idea. Killian kissed her hair then, and said before she could tell him what was going on in her head.

"Swan, I'm so sorry I left, I should never have reacted that way..."

"I'm the one who is sorry." She whispered in his neck. "I should never have accepted this plan in the first plan, I can see this now."

"Wait a minute..." He then said in a shaky voice. "Do you mean that..."

She looked up to be able to see him. She saw his blue eyes shining with hope and relief that she wasn't going to go straight into danger after all, and the little bit of guilt she was still carrying with her at the idea of giving up on attacking Regina disappeared at once. All he wanted was to see the people he loved safe, and he was so scared of losing any of them, because he'd already lost everything else in the world. She could understand. And she knew she'd taken the right decision at last.

"I won't put the girls in danger." She answered in a very low voice. "I won't go anywhere. We'll just have to find someone else who can do this. I'm pregnant, and my only job right now is to make sure that my children are safe."

"Oh, Emma..."

He held her a little bit closer against his chest, his hand coming to rest over her bump. The twins, who hadn't moved once since what had happened the day before, gave a very small kick that made her sigh in relief. They were safe, and they would stay that way, because she was going to make sure of it. Killian leaned to kiss her everywhere he could reach, looking at her with so much love in his eyes her heart missed a wonderful beat.

They stayed in that bed for a good part of the day, simply holding each other and knowing that they wouldn't lose anyone. She didn't want to leave him after what had happened, and he was so happy to see that she'd changed her mind he didn't want to let go either. He murmured to her ear that he loved her over and over again, and she knew she'd made the right choice.

They were going to find another way to defeat Regina. But there was no way she would put anyone she loved in danger because of that.


End file.
